A Grudging Seduction
by Bane's Desire
Summary: Yaoi 1x2 Having unhappily accepted a longterm mission involving Heero, Duo sets out to accomplish it.
1. Default Chapter

To Aphrael, my proofreader: Everything old is new again. Right?

Note: I don't own the GW boys, I only play god with their factitious lives as a way to fill in my few and far in-between moments of spare time.

A Grudging Seduction

Author: Bane's Desire

Warnings: yaoi, some violence and mild language.

Chapter One: Mission Accepted.

"WHAT?" 

The loud, shocked voice of the boy sitting in the cockpit of his gundam bounced back off the tightly insulated metal walls that encased him. "Are you out of your twisted, perverted, pea-size friggen minds?"

With eyes wide and an expression of disbelief on his handsome face, he stared at the two faces displayed on the split screen of his communication board. The man addressing him was the person he'd worked and trained with, Professor G. The other man sharing the split screen was known to him only as Dr. J. He recognized the odd looking man from frequent vid calls G had with him during the time Operation Meteor was being readied.

Suddenly an explanation come to him and humor lit the boy's eyes. He threw his head back and laughed out loud, unconstrained.

"Duo!" G sharply rebuked his pupil, not knowing if he was being heard or not over the loud guffaws. After a few moments it was easily determined that the boy obviously hadn't heard him as he continued laughing, causing the man to call out sharply several more times before he caught the boy's attention once again.

"Ah shit, G, that was a good one. You almost had me there, old man," the fifteen year old said, catching his breath and wiping away the excess moisture that was leaking from the corners of his eyes.

"It's not a joke, Duo," the man replied sternly. "This is a serious, long-term mission you are being asked to accept."

All humor displayed on the boy's face suddenly vanished, leaving as abruptly as it had begun as he glared into the camera capturing his image, knowing exactly how menacing it would look on the other end of the feed as he snarled, "You better be pulling my leg old man or you're dead the next time I can get my hands around your scrawny neck."

"There's no need to resort to useless threats of violence," G said calmly, trying to placate the boy. 

"But why? Why me?" the boy demanded, his anger still apparent on his flushed, unhappy face and from the steely glint in his eyes. "Is it just because of my looks? My braid? Or is it because I'm from that shit-hole L-2? Do you think that just because I come from that gutter that I'll do anything you ask? Even this? Well you're wrong, old man, if you thought that. Go find yourself a hooker and then take a flying leap out of an air lock. I don't sell my body to no one. Got it!"

"You're not selling your body to anyone." The man known simply as Dr. J spoke up for the first time during the bizarre conversation, his voice was as calm and even as Professor G's had been, but a bit too patronizing for the boy's liking. "But in answer to your question, you are essential to this mission. In fact, I personally believe you are the only one who can accomplish it."

"I'll ask you again," the boy seethed, pulling his long brown braid over his shoulder and gripping it with both hands while barely controlling his anger and another outburst. "Why? Why him? Why me?"

"You tell him," G said to his counterpart, running almost skeletal thin fingers through his mop of thick, bowl-cut styled hair, displaying his barely veiled discomfort with the conversation.

"From Heero's reports we know you've met and even worked with my protégée." The man with the weird mechanical eye and metal prostheses doubling as an arm waited until the boy, currently located on earth, acknowledged with a sharp nod of his head that what he said was true, then continued. "He has mentioned you in his reports more than any other person he's met since leaving for Earth in his gundam."

"He didn't even know my name for a while. How could he have mentioned me?" Duo argued petulantly.

"He didn't need a name to describe you in detail or ask questions about you," the half metal man replied. "You have definitely piqued his interest and curiosity."

"How about that girl that chases him all over the place? Relena whatever her name is now. I'm sure she'd be glad to accept this assignment."

J shook his head. "He's only mentioned her briefly in three of his reports. You appear in his notes a total of ninety-six times, she's named eight times and the other pilots are mentioned slightly more than that."

"Ninety six?" The boy's voice jumped an octave on the word six, causing him to blush with embarrassment. He shook his head, adamantly. "I can't. I just can't do what you're asking."

"You can and you will," his own mentor said firmly. "Remember, Duo, you promised me when I took you in and trained you that you would do anything that was required of you to win this war? You vowed to put down the oppressors of L-2 and those who destroyed your happiness."

"Yeah, I did." Duo eyes sparked with anger and all the bad memories rushed back to remind him of his hatred for his enemy. "But what does any of that have to do with Heero Frigid Yuy?"

"Because, my boy," J spoke up again, his mechanical arm making a clicking noise as he adjusted his strange eyepiece. "I've trained Heero from a very young age to be the perfect soldier, to put aside his emotions and personal doubts in order to focus on his missions. He WILL win this war, you can count on that," he said with conviction laced with pride. Then his graying eyebrows lowered, his voice became slightly contrite. "But shortly after he left here in his gundam, I came to believe that I erred in my method of training him. His lack of emotions, of not being attached to anyone or anything other than his mission objective, has given him little to no reason to live. He has already attempted several times to take his life for the integrity of the mission, with the first attempt being no more than an hour after putting his feet on Earth's soil. His interest in you has been the only indication I've detected that he still has some feelings and emotions normal to a young man his age, though he's not truly cognizant of what they mean at this time. He expresses curiosity and, in my opinion, a slight obsession about who you are and why you act the way you do."

"I don't see why you think I have to seduce him. Can't I just be his friend?"

"Of course," J answered with an ambiguous Mona Lisa grin on his otherwise unattractive face. "Friendship, especially in a romantic relationship, is necessary and most effective. But the original order still stands." His face sobered as he looked directly into the camera, stating the original orders again. "You are to gain his affections and attachment, and if he shows a sexual interest in you, you are to encourage it and yield to him. Bind him to you with your affections and with your friendship, give him something to live for. If he succeeds in killing himself before the war is over, even for something as justifiable as avoiding capture, our chances for success are almost nil."

"Well thanks for the vote of confidence," Duo replied, sarcasm dripping from his words. "The rest of us aren't exactly chopped liver, you know. My Deathscythe is superior to Wing in many respects. Heero might have super human strength and reaction time, but he's no Superman or the only one that's determined to keep fighting until we win this damn war."

"That's not what he meant, Duo." G could see his student becoming riled again, and an angry Duo was not always a rational thinker. "We're not questioning you or your abilities or determination. Heero was trained to do the impossible. His body has been enhanced to the point that he can bend steel and iron with his bare hands. You've seen how he works. Who else could jump out of a high rise building and survive after not pulling his parachute until the last moment? You were impressed enough to write several pages in your report about that incident and about his setting his own broken bones."

Duo shuddered, remembering the moment that had given him nightmares for several nights after the incident happened. "Don't remind me."

"Listen son," Dr. J began again.

"I'm not your son," Duo corrected him sharply with a warning glare.

"Sorry," the man said in a tighter voice, clearly becoming irritated with the ill tempered youth. "But your orders stand. You are to befriend Heero Yuy, be supportive, show affection, and give him whatever he needs from you in order for you to anchor him to life, including your body, if that's what he requires. Give him something worth enduring the battles and hardships for." A steely look entered J's eye. "And he must survive, Mr. Maxwell, in order to do what must be done for us to win this war."

The boy in the pilot's chair was shaking with frustration and anger. "Don't you care what this will do to me?" He asked through gritted teeth. "Don't you care that I'm not gay, that I like girls. What about me? Are you willing to undermine and sacrifice who I am for Heero's sake?"

"You are the strongest person I know, Duo," G said in a soft, affectionate tone that was somewhat sympathetic. "And because of his expressed interest in you, I don't believe there is another who could pull this off. Just be yourself. By nature you're both friendly and affectionate. You've made friends with the roughest and toughest of the Sweepers, surely you can win over one boy. Just pretend he's a female if he needs affection or even something more from you." The man's eyes softened as he added, "You've survived L-2's worst, my boy, and you can most assuredly survive giving a bit of yourself to a boy who desperately needs it, can't you? I've given you a superior killing machine to fight this war, to revenge your dead, and with it comes taking the lives of your fellow man. You're now being given an opportunity to not only save 01's life, but the lives of countless innocent people who will one day enjoy the peace that Heero, along with the rest of the gundam pilots, will help to bring them."

Duo thought of every curse word he could think of and mentally threw them at G's image on the screen. "I hate you," he hissed, realizing he couldn't turn the man down when he gave such a convincing argument; suggesting the idea that world and colony peace would be the end result of the mission he was being given was a low blow. He wanted the more than his own petty revenge. Then there was the fact that he owed the old geezer more than he could ever repay. He'd been plucked off the streets after the massacre at the orphanage and saved by this not unkind man who had educated him far beyond what he would have learned in the charity schools on his colony and then trained him to pilot Deathscythe, giving him a chance to seek retribution for all the ills and injustices that had befallen the L-2 colony. He owed G big time, and knew in his heart he could never disappoint his benefactor even though at times like this, he fiercely detested the man.

"And I'm proud of you, Duo," the older man said, sincerity ringing in his voice.

"Mission accepted," the unhappy boy choked out and slammed his fist on the console, cutting off the image of the two men. "But I'll never forgive you for this, you son of a bitch."

  
  


Three hours later, feeling more calm and collected, Duo left the cockpit of his gundam and, after securing Deathscythe's hatch, he looked up to the impressive white gundam standing like a sentinel next to his own suit. "Damn you," he snarled up at the passionless, frozen face of the fighting machine, thinking it bore a similar appearance to its pilot, both deadly, cold and lacking emotion. He then turned towards the safehouse where Heero and Wufei had been all afternoon, feeling a growing sense of dread increasing with each step he took towards the cabin as well as a grudging resignation. He had accepted the mission and he would somehow accomplish it, regardless of the consequences to himself. Was that decision really any different than how he approached any other mission or target he had been given? Not really, but this was just much more... personal.

With slow plodding footsteps so unlike him, he climbed the wooden steps to the porch that Wufei had repaired that morning to stand before the front door of the old cabin that served as their hideout from OZ. He paused with his hand on the door knob, steeling himself for the task ahead and willing himself not to show the other two that anything out of the ordinary was going on. Stepping over the threshold, he was greeted by two pairs of dark, observant eyes.

"Is something wrong?" Heero asked, having glanced up from his laptop that was running on batteries since there was no electricity in the abandoned cabin.

"Nah," Duo waved off any concern. "I just had to make some modifications to Deathscythe that G wanted to boost the power to the thrusters. It's going to take some work and better tools than what we have here." Lie number one, Duo reprimanded himself, wondering how many would have to pass through his lips before his 'long-term mission' was over.

He made his way over to the rough and rotting wood, closet-sized room called a kitchenette and shuffled through the bags of dwindling supplies, looking for something to eat. At a slight sound behind him, he turned to see Wufei standing in the doorway, regarding him with his dark, almond shaped eyes.

"You seem troubled," he observed.

Duo shrugged. "I'm just hungry and a little tired." He pulled out the last two protein bars and a bottle of juice. The variety of their rations was greatly limited due to the lack of electricity and refrigeration. For the most part, they found themselves eating by necessity such boring food as vitamin packed protein bars, canned soup, Ramen noodles, beans and other such bland foods for their dinner that were cooked in an old pot over a fire in the fireplace.

"You were in your gundam a long time." Wufei's voice came from behind him.

"What's this? Twenty questions?" Duo asked, his irritation coming through loud and clear.

"I didn't ask a question."

Duo turned and looked at the other pilot, annoyed, realizing the other boy was right. "I'm cranky today, okay? Just ignore me."

Wufei studied him for another moment before turning and silently returning to whatever he was doing in the main room.

"Get it together, Duo boy." The Deathscythe pilot began his self talk just under his breath to psyche himself up. "Showtime is about to begin and it had better well be damn convincing."

Taking up his snack and squaring his shoulders, he returned to the front room, purposely putting a little bounce into his step as he moved to position himself on the worn-out carpet just in front of the couch and inches from Heero's leg. In front of him stood the sturdy but ugly, used and abused coffee table that Heero had set his lap top on to work from.

The Wing pilot paused in his typing to look at him, clearly disapproving of his close proximity, invading his personal space. He purposely turned his laptop so the screen was not visible to the braided teen and then deliberately ignored him.

Duo mentally shrugged. If Dr. J was right and Heero liked him so much, he sure had a funny way of showing it. Turning his thoughts to his food, he slowly opened the wrapper of his first protein bar. "Um... peanut butter." He hummed his pleasure at the treat. "This is by far the best of all the protein bars," he stated, not expecting nor getting any comment from the other two pilots. "The Decadent Chocolate just isn't decadent enough, it doesn't even taste like chocolate. And the Coconut and Cookies and Cream versions are only passable at best. The other varieties, man, they're just plain nasty. Remember to always get the peanut butter, will ya Heero? It's the best."

Heero pulled his eyes from the screen and looked at the speaker as if he'd sprouted a second head, horns and a tail. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked with a frown.

Duo grinned. "Just in case you're out buying supplies for us. It would make me supremely happy if you bought the peanut butter flavor." Duo then performed the simplest of flirting tactics that he'd observed girls using but never dreamed he try it with another boy; he gave to Heero his most charming smile and batted his long eyelashes at him.

Heero's frown deepened as he leaned closer, his eyes bore into Duo's own, causing the braided youth to hold his breath while his smile faltered under the intense scrutiny. "Is there something wrong with your eyes?" Heero asked. "Why are you blinking like that?"

Feeling foolish and the heat rising to his cheeks, Duo made a show of rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands to cover up his first attempt at flirting with the other pilot. "Yeah, they feel kind of gritty, but I'm sure they'll be better after a good night's sleep."

Heero sat back on the poor excuse for a couch and returned his eyes to his laptop. "You could wash them out with the bottled water if it bothers you so much," 

he advised.

"Yeah, um... thanks for the suggestion," Duo murmured, returning to his snack and finishing the both of them off without a thinking or enjoy them. It was only when he reached for his drink that he realized he'd eaten his food in less than a minute and that the fast rate of consumption left him feeling completely unsatisfied. "Well, damn," he swore under his breath. He looked up to see Wufei studying him again from over the top of his thick, geeky book. Giving him a what-are-you-looking-at glare, Duo felt somewhat satisfied when the Chinese pilot lowered his eyes back to the written pages.

What next? he thought to himself. How could he make any move towards showing Heero he had an interest in him or even attempt any type of flirting with Wufei surreptitiously watching every move he made? Well, like Sister Helen used to say, 'If there's a will, there's a way.' He'd just have to be subtle. Not his usual approach to anything, but hey, he'd give it a try. With a big yawn and a dramatic stretch of his arms, the braided boy leaned back against the couch and wiggled his body until he felt somewhat comfortable, then proceeded to doze off, or at least appeared to do so.

After ten minutes of remaining still, giving the appearance of having fallen asleep, he shifted slightly to lay his head against Heero's bare knee. The tapping sounds coming from the lone keyboard in the room stopped abruptly and Duo could almost feel Heero glaring at his head and trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"What's he doing?" Heero's unhappy, monotone voice quietly asked. 

"He appears to be sleeping," Wufei replied, equally quiet. "He told me he was tired when he first came in."

"Is he doing this on purpose?"

"He's sleeping, Heero." Wufei's voice sounded impatient at the other boy's denseness. "He must trust you and feel comfortable enough in your presence to lean against you."

Listening to the conversation, Duo decided that if he were gay, he would have kissed Wufei for inadvertently helping his plan along. He kept himself still, however, while listening to the conversation and somewhat expecting Heero to suddenly push him away or smack him in the head in order to wake him up.

"Duo?" Heero's voice called out rather sharply, but the braided boy maintained his slow and steady rhythm of breathing to maintain the appearance of sleeping.

"Let him sleep, Yuy," Wufei chimed in. "He's not harming you or keeping you from your laptop."

"It bothers me."

"Then get over it and let him rest. You never know when a mission will come and he could be your back up. You don't want him performing at less than full capacity because you woke him up from a much needed nap, do you?"

Wufei's logical reasoning seemed to placate the Wing pilot for the tapping of the keys on his keyboard began again, this time lulling the faking boy into a real state of sleep.

  
  


"Duo. Wake up. It's time to eat," Wufei's voice called to the braided boy, waking him instantly from his surprisingly deep sleep.

Sitting up abruptly, Duo looked around the room quickly to get his bearings of where he was and why he was there. The look of panic in his eyes paled as remembrance came to his mind. Cabin. Safehouse. Secure. Food? That's all he needed to know. He looked up to see the Chinese pilot gazing down at him with a smirk on his face that Duo managed to return. 

"Man, I was dead out, wasn't I?"

"Let's eat." The other boy turned away from him, ignoring the question and returning to the pot set on a hook over the burning fire in the fireplace.

Rubbing his hands together, Duo looked expectantly at the pot. "What culinary delights are you cooking up for us tonight, Wufei? Some sort of hodgepodge stew? Hamburger Helper without the meat?" The meals of late had been rather grim.

"Oatmeal."

Duo's face fell into a stricken expression. "Not oatmeal," he groaned. "Don't we have anything else? Please," his voice took on the dramatic tone, "tell me there's something else in the kitchen."

"We've eaten all the canned food and need the Ramen for lunch and dinner tomorrow. I'm afraid this is all we have left."

"Without milk?" Duo swallowed hard at the thought.

"I'm afraid so. Why? Don't you like it?"

Duo shook his head. "Sometimes, at the orphanage, it was all we had until another supply shipment came from Earth. Once we had to eat it for a full week for every meal with only powdered milk on it." His face screwed up with revulsion of that vivid memory. "But at least we had brown sugar to go on it, making it somewhat edible. I..I don't think I can swallow it down now without getting sick."

Wufei gave him a long-suffering look that was touched with the barest amount of sympathy. "I think have a little granulated sugar left, will that help?"

The braided boy shook his head.

"You can look in the bag again. There are some odds and ends left. You might be something left you could eat."

Duo fervently hoped that was true as he stood and went to the small kitchen area and searched through the bags once again. Thankfully, he was able to come up with a small, almost empty jar of peanut butter and some leftover broken crackers. It wasn't a lot, and he would have preferred graham crackers to go with his peanut butter, but he had a small and frequently empty stomach that was complaining at the moment, so it would have to do. Though it would be a small-scale meal, he was determined that he would savor every bite of it in order to avoid the dreaded grain currently cooking in the one pot they possessed.

Taking his treasured sustenance and a plastic knife with him, he went back into the front room, noticing for the first time that Heero wasn't present, though his laptop lay closed on top of the coffee table. "Where's Heero?" he asked the other pilot.

Wufei was spooning the mush out of the pot and into two bowls when he replied. "He got a message to go out to Wing and download some mission site plans. He should be back any minute."

"A mission came in?" Duo asked, opening the small jar and scooping out a small portion of the thick, chunky peanut butter and spread it as thinly as possible on a jagged piece of a once round, wheat grained cracker.

"Yes, we'll move out tomorrow night," Wufei replied. "You and Heero are to report to a private school located near one of Oz's supply depots. You're to stake it out and then destroy it. I'm to head north to a space port and put it out of commission. I'll join Quatre and Trowa after that for a couple of joint missions."

"So Heero and I will be partners for a while yet," Duo said, not surprised that J and G had probably set things up so that he could attempt to get closer to Heero in order to accomplish his mission. "Heero's kind of a hard guy to be wing man to. Thinks he's fighting the whole damn war by himself," he grumbled.

"Well, we know better than that, don't we?" The Chinese teen said, bringing the two full bowls of the vile cooked grain to the table and sitting down on the floor across from Duo.

"Damn right," Duo replied with a mouth full of cracker and peanut butter.

Wufei was halfway through his bowl of tasteless cereal when Heero returned. He moved to the table and silently sat next to Wufei and then began to eat what had been prepared without comment.

"Do you like oatmeal, Heero?" Duo asked, attempting to draw the other boy out into some conversation.

"It has some nutritional value," he replied, not looking up. "Not as good as rice, but it's better than nothing."

That was a start, Duo thought, but he was going to have to find something that Heero, the tight lipped wonder, would want to talk a bit more freely about if he was going to have any conversation with him that evening. "So how's Wing holding up?"

Heero glanced up at the questioning boy, his eyes meeting interested blue-violet orbs. "It's at ninety-five percent of its performance capacity. If we can get to Howard's barge in the next month, I'm sure I can have it up to one hundred percent within an hour or two."

The room fell silent again and Duo struggled for his next move or even for something to say. He remembered that flattery usually did well for awkward silences. "Wing's a pretty cool machine. To bad it doesn't have stealth capabilities."

Heero paused, his spoon half way to his mouth and gave the other pilot a withering glare, then suddenly toned it down. "Evidently your trainer didn't inform Dr. J of the last minute upgrades he was working on and he definitely didn't share the specs on the stealth enabler he developed. It's unfortunate he was selfish with his invention. Such a system would be beneficial to all the gundams."

Duo silently bristled at Heero's criticism of a man he didn't know. "He fine tuned the system two months before we left the colonies and it was still in the trial phase. There wasn't enough time to pass on the information to the other gundam engineers and it was too risky to try to hand off the plans and specifications in case our enemy intercepted them. Can you imagine what would happen if the Alliance or Oz ever got their hands on a device that would enable them to have cloaking capabilities? The odds for winning the war would definitely be in their favor if they did."

Heero shrugged his shoulders as if the information didn't alter his perceptions of Deathscythe's brilliant designer.

"If you'd like, I could show you the system."

That got the braided boy Heero's full attention, Wufei's too.

"You would really let us see it?" Wing's pilot asked in a dubious tone of voice. Yet as Duo looked closer he was surprised to observe that Heero had an almost unrecognizable gleam of anticipation in his eyes. It was pretty much accepted by the five that each one of them prided himself on his gundam, its individual design, characteristics, weapons and systems. Each one of them jealously guarded their machine's secrets and design as a matter of pride.

It took all that Duo had in him to smile and nod his head, fighting the instinct to possessively guard his war buddy. "Sure, for my good friends I'll gladly let you have a peek, but no touching, okay?" There was a look of warning in his eyes directed to the other pilot. Heero had stolen parts from Deathscythe before and he'd be damned if he'd let him do it again.

Heero looked perplexed at both the warning glare and the offer, but nodded his head in agreement. "After we clean up from dinner. There should be enough light outside to find our way there again and back if we don't stay too long."

Wufei almost immediately stood up and headed towards the kitchen to clean up his bowl, snagging the empty pot next to the fireplace on the way. He was obviously as anxious to see the inside of Deathscythe and study its much envied stealth system as Heero was. Popping another peanut butter laced cracker into his mouth and chewing it, Duo looked to Heero who was staring at him questioningly.

"Why are you doing this?" The blue-eyed boy asked quietly, looking slightly bewildered.

"Because we're friends, aren't we? We fight together, share food and supplies as well as a roof. And sometimes we even patch each other up. I don't know what else friends do that's as important as that." He shrugged one shoulder forward as he spoke. "I guess this is just my way to prove my friendship to you."

"You don't need friends in a time of war," Heero stated, returning his attention to his cold porridge.

"That's what you think, buddy." Duo snorted. "But that's exactly when you need them more than ever before." That statement hung in the air between the two boys until Wufei came out from the so-called kitchen and sat, waiting patiently for them to finish eating so they could walk out to Duo's gundam.

  
  


It was much later, dark and cooler when the three of them bedded down on the hardwood plank floor in their sleeping bags. Wufei was sound asleep as Duo continued to field Heero's questions about his gundam. He didn't want to give away all of G's design, but he gave the inquisitive pilot laying next to him enough to keep Heero engaged in conversation. Heero's questions and comments were intelligent and to the point, leading the braided boy to conclude that Heero was indeed smarter than the average teenager, and then he supposed that all five of them were anything but average teenagers.

The two teens remained awake as they lay in their sleeping bags, placed inches apart and parallel to each other while they spoke in quiet voices, not wanting to disturb their other companion. While Heero asked yet another technical question about the power source for the stealth shield, Duo saw his chance to demonstrate something more to the other boy. With the faint light of the moon giving the room enough light to see by, he reached out with his fingers and gently pushed a long strand of dark hair away from Heero's deep blue eyes.

"What are you doing?" Heero's eyes narrowed, a warning after having his personal space breeched.

"I couldn't see your eyes," Duo answered, hoping he wasn't going to get hit in the face for being forward. "You really do have nice eyes, Heero. They're the deepest blue I've ever seen. You're not full Japanese, are you?"

"It doesn't appear that I am, but I know nothing of my parents. I was raised by a man who told me he wasn't my father, and after he was killed I was taken in and trained by Dr. J."

Duo looked into Heero's eyes. "I don't remember my parents either. My first memories are of being cold, hungry and alone on the streets of L-2. Then Solo found me and protected me along with the other little ones he'd gathered to protect. Guess we're kind of alike, both being orphans," he concluded, hoping to establish some common ground with Heero, to find something they could connect to with each other. 

"You have purple eyes," Heero stated suddenly, then mimicking Duo's earlier move, reached out and pushed the fringe of hair from off the American's forehead, returning the friendly gesture a bit stiffly. The Deathscythe pilot had to force himself not to flinch. He didn't allow just anyone to touch his hair in any manner for a long, long time now, but he knew he needed to let Heero be the exception to passing his strict, personal space barriers if his mission was going to be carried out.

"Not really purple," Duo answered, his voice low. "But I've been told that when the light is just right they take on that shade. They're kind of a bluish-violet, especially when I wear black, am really happy or extremely mad, or so I'm told."

"Nothing in between?"

"Guess you'll have to tell me. I'm not in the habit of staring at myself in a mirror," he chuckled.

Heero gave off a disbelieving snort as he settled his head onto the small pillow that came with the sleeping bags. "You spend forever in the bathroom every morning. We figured you were admiring yourself in the mirror, preening."

He suddenly found himself being pummeled with Duo's pillow. In a low voice, Duo answered, playfully indignant. "I'll have you know that hair this long takes a lot of care. I do not stand in front of a mirror in the bathroom every morning admiring myself."

"If you say so," Heero snorted sarcastically with smiling at the playfulness of the other pilot while ducking blow after blow from the small, harmless pillow. It finally took his snagging the offending article away from the attacking boy in order to bring the one-sided pillow fight to a halt. He handed the abused pillow back after Duo had finally settled back down into his sleeping bag once again.

The braided boy lay quiet for a few moments, contemplating how much of himself he really wanted to expose to the other boy. "If you must know," he said quietly, "I stay in the bathroom and do some self-talk in the mornings. You know, psyche myself up to face another day or another battle, to remind myself why I'm doing this."

"Why are you doing this, Duo?" Heero's eyes studied the boy in front of him, looking for some understanding him.

Duo observed the other boy for a moment, seeing and returning Heero's full, uncomfortably scrutinizing attention. "Believe me, Heero, I've got my reasons," he replied, then grabbed his pillow and turned his back to the other boy. "The death of all those who ever cared about me will haunt me until they've been avenged. Goodnight, Heero," he whispered in a tense voice. The silence that filled the cabin afterwards seemed heavy all of a sudden

.

A few moments of quiet passed before Heero quietly replied in kind. "Goodnight, Duo." In the room lit only by the full moon, its golden beams streaming through the dusty window panes, the Wing pilot's eyes lowered to fix his sight on the thick braid that gently fell from the nape of Duo's neck to lay on the floor beside him. Reaching out a tentative finger, he cautiously brushed the dark, unfettered end of it, his eyes shifting regularly to see if Duo sensed his actions. But as the boy across from him remained still, seemingly unaware, Heero picked up the thick rope of hair and held it in his hand and spent a long while thinking about the day that had just ended and contemplating the enigmatic boy resting only inches away.

  
  


Continued soon


	2. Getting to Know You

  
  


Note: See page one for the usual disclaimer and warnings

A Grudging Seduction

Chapter 2: Getting To Know You

The move to the private high school took a total of three days. The gundams were hidden in a large, commercial warehouse, located and paid in full ahead of time by Dr. J, while G had registered the two highly sought after freedom fighters, labeled on Earth as terrorists, as cousins. The many registration papers for the highly esteemed and prestigious Milmont Academy reported the two boys were related, linked by blood through their mothers and requested the two room together. An attached letter from Mr. Hitto Yung, a purportedly very successful businessman from Colony L-1, requested that his son, Hiiro Yung, described to be introverted and shy, share a room with his more gregarious cousin, Duncan Maxcell, as it would benefit the reticent boy to have the close association with a familiar relative in a new environment. It was a request happily and readily granted by the school when a generous donation came from the boys' families towards the construction of a new library on campus in addition to the already steep tuition fee.

It was late afternoon by the time the two teens found their dorm room and began to unpack their new uniforms from the large shopping bags they'd carried in with them and street clothes from their duffle bags.

"It cost as much to buy these fancy duds as it would be to feed half of L-2's population," Duo groused unhappily under his breath as he tossed the bags onto his bed. "There ought to be a law against clothing, just plain old cotton, being that expensive. Cotton is cotton and school shirts and pants are just that. Paying that many credits for them is nothing shot of being criminal. Don't you think necessities like these should be regulated by the government?"

"This is an upper class school, Duo," Heero answered in a bored tone of voice. "If anything here was inexpensive the students would probably complain about the lack of quality." He sniffed in a dismissive manner. "There's not much we can do about that." He turned with a shrug and pulled his toiletries out of his duffel. "So don't waste any energy worrying about something you can't change."

Duo tossed his empty duffle bag across the room in the direction of the closet. "Hell, Heero, if I thought that way, I'd still be living out of trash cans on L-2," he shot back.

Wing's pilot didn't turn around to look at him as he put his socks in a drawer and continued on with what he was saying, ignoring Duo's brief outburst. "Besides, changing an economic system in any government is a massive undertaking. If, in a democratic society, it came down to a public vote to change the way consumer goods are valued, we probably wouldn't be old enough to vote, our opinions wouldn't be validated."

"That's right," the braided teen sounded sarcastic as he canted his head to the side and put his hands on his hips. "We can pilot gundams from the colonies to Earth and fight for their freedom, destroy military sites worth millions, sometimes billions of credits and risk our lives in dog fights with other mobile suits, but we can't vote or legally drink. What kind of a crazy place is this earth sphere anyway?"

Heero looked over his shoulder in time to see other boy fall backwards onto his bed, flopping down bonelessly to lay sprawled there, a crooked grin plastered on his face. Duo was being facetious, but his comments were not too far off the mark. He noted the L-2 pilot's usual style of humor tended to be filled with sarcasm and truthfully, he was still having a hard time trying to understand and fully appreciate it. He ignored the question asked by the other boy, understanding that Duo wasn't really looking for an answer.

"Wanna try the cafeteria for dinner or order out for some pizza?"

Heero was silently grateful for the change of subject and zipped up his empty duffle. "I don't have a preference. But if we eat in the cafeteria we can check out the school and get a feel for the students."

Duo sighed, clearly disappointed with Heero's suggestion. "You're right," he agreed with a sigh. "But maybe later we can take a walk into town and get some ice cream or catch a movie. I'd like to enjoy being back in civilization after a couple of weeks playing Daniel Boone."

"Who?"

"History, Heero? Remember Daniel Boone? An American frontiersman that lived in the wilds of Kentucky? In a cabin?" Duo smiled as a light of understanding finally lit Heero's face. 

"I get it."

Duo's smile got bigger. "I knew you were smarter than the average terrorist."

Heero shook his head, the slight smile on his face showed that he was amused by the other boy's banter. He noticed the small action was caught by the American who looked more than pleased with himself for some reason.

  
  


The braided teenager watched as his mission assignment walked to the closet and put both of the black leather bags neatly inside. All in all, he was pleased with the progress he was making in gaining Heero's friendship. The Japanese boy was definitely more relaxed than he'd ever seen him before and seemed less irritated with his presence. He felt the stirring of true feelings of friendship forming, taking the place of their previous status of being merely dependable comrades. He'd set one of his goals for the coming week to getting Heero to laugh out loud. He'd seen more than one glimpse of a smile on the face his Japanese friend, and he decided it looked pretty damn nice. It took the harshness out of the otherwise handsome face and made the Japanese boy look more like a regular teenager, though neither he nor Heero could ever make that claim. Once he'd seen that reluctant smile tugging at Heero's lips, Duo had his mind set on seeing it grow and blossom into a full blown laugh. Laughter, after all, was good for building friendships.

The two boys worked closely together for the next five days, scouting out the location of the base that was their designated target, going to classes during the day and dealing with the social interactions that was part of a private school while planning for the base's destruction when the lights went out in the dorms each night. The longer Duo spent in Heero's presence, the more comfortable he became with the stoic and serious teen. He studied Wing's pilot carefully, looking for things the other boy liked and what he disliked; the latter of which happened to be the cafeteria's poor attempt at macaroni and cheese. In their rare moments of down time, Duo worked at coaxing that elusive smile or bits of personal information from his partner, succeeding much more than he previously had thought possible.

After several days of taking mental notes, Duo came to the conclusion that even though he and Heero seemed as different as day and night, they both shared the common goal and the same determination to destroy the military regime that had cruelly oppressed the colonies for decades. With that unified goal, shared with the other gundam pilots, he was certain that eventually their victory would come to fruition by successfully taking OZ out by completing one mission at a time, taking down one base at a time, and even killing one man in one mobile suit at a time. The more he studied Heero and his methods, he could see why Dr. J put such importance on Heero's life. He did fit the mold of the perfect soldier.

Since their first inauspicious meeting, Duo made careful observations of Heero's performance and tactics on and off the battlefield. In doing so, he determined early on that their approach and style for carrying out their assigned missions were definitely dissimilar from each others. He noticed over time that Heero was methodical to the point of being obsessive as far as planning and executing his missions were concerned. It was almost as if he choreographed his movements for the task he was undertaking. He was always prepared, mentally alert and physically able, and took into consideration every possible scenario that might occur while engaged in battle or in an infiltration. 

In comparison, Duo knew he was anything but the perfect soldier. He tended to react more emotionally with regards to his own day to day living as well as reactions during a battle. He jumped head first into both life and his mission assignments without much forethought. And when it came to battling his enemy, he exercised an almost desperate need to wipe out everything that represented the Alliance and now Oz. He somehow felt that by destroying them, he could eradicate the pain of his past and give peace to the restless souls of those he cared about, who had died at the hands of a brutal government and who often haunted his dreams. 

It came as a surprise to him when he realized that since he'd begun working with Heero, he'd unwittingly altered his usual style of approaching an altercation in school and in mission planning by toning down some of his normal recklessness to balance with Heero's more restrained personality and anal planning. He was pleasantly surprised that Heero, too, allowed some slack in doing thing his own way and had actually begun to listen to him as he gave some of his own sometimes unconventional ideas for the mission. So far, their new system of planning and compromising seemed to be working for the both of them and balanced their differing styles into what he hoped would be an effective working team.

During those days spent at the upper-class school, Duo continued thinking and acting on his mission regarding Heero and, with a lingering reluctance, he attempted to draw Heero closer to a more physical relationship by using every opportunity available to have some sort of physical contact with his friend. He'd been told by Heero once before that in his culture, physical touch, especially by strangers, was not comfortable nor acceptable. Personal space was to be respected. Duo knew he would have to breech that particular barrier if he was to have any type of a physical relationship with Heero. And so he set out with a plan, drawn up in his mind with an goal to accustom Heero to accepting his touch. So he began with a casual arm slung around the strong, usually stiff shoulders, a friendly jab in the ribs as he joked with him, an attempt at finding a ticklish spot on the lean, muscled body, and his leaning against the sturdy boy as they studied assignments or data. The methodical touching was just some of the ways he hoped to establish some physical closeness with Heero. 

At first, the friendly touching was done warily. Duo wasn't sure of Heero's response to the increasing breach of the very private boy's personal space. Heero's reaction was somewhat predictable. His body often became rigid at his initial attempts at being touched and was followed by a glare of warning that was shot his way. Duo simply ignored it and proved to be relentless in his tactics. 

To the braided boy's relief, no knock-down punches were thrown, though he was pushed off and away several times. After several days, it appeared that Heero had finally given up and accepted his overly friendly touch. He voiced his belief that such constant physical contact seemed to be due to some quirk in Duo's strange emotional makeup. Remembering Heero saying that, Duo couldn't help the smirk that grew on his face. His mission plans were moving along, though slowly, but with some measured success as Heero appeared to accept him, first as a friend and now his touch. He was inordinately pleased that his friendship with Heero was growing along with the more frequent smiles and personal contact. 'Yep', he said to himself, 'the mission is coming along nicely.'

On the night scheduled for their mission, the two boys returned to their dorm room after the evening meal. Their homework was completed for their morning classes, which they would attend no matter how tired they might be in order to give them an alibi for the night's absence should they need one. Their equipment was packed for the mission and they dressed silently in their black surveillance clothing. They retired early to their beds, intent on resting for several hours until the time they were scheduled to leave. Heero seemed to settle quickly, but as usual, the ability to relax or sleep right before a mission eluded the braided teenager. He'd always experienced an upset stomach before his missions, a result of nervous tension, a term Howard had come up with as a label for his condition. His stomach was tight and as tense as the taunt muscles in his neck and shoulders, and try as he would, he couldn't force himself to relax. After shifting several times, trying to find a more comfortable position, Heero's slightly irritated voice barked out from the other side of the room.

"What's the matter?"

"I'm too tense to sleep. I need to pace or just... do something." Duo's tight voice revealed his state of frustration.

A slight rustling sound came from Heero's direction and Duo turned his head to see the other boy's shadowed form coming towards him. "If you can't rest, you'll be too tired to perform with optimum efficiency tonight."

"I can't force myself to sleep," Duo snapped back, irritated. His eyes widened as Heero perched himself on the side of his bed. 

"Turn over."

The braided boy stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"Roll over onto your stomach and I'll help you relax."

Swallowing hard while worrying over what Heero was going to do, Duo complied, placing his face against the pillow with his hands tucked under it. He couldn't help the involuntary flinch of his skin when Heero's hands touched his clothed back.

"Relax your shoulders," Heero said, his voice low.

Using all his powers of concentration, Duo tried to comply to the best of his ability. Then the strong and calloused hands began to massage the tightly bunched muscled back in small, circular movements. Heero's palms pressed down firmly into the tense muscles, painfully loosening them up. Duo found the experience to be both uncomfortable and pleasurable and a slight moan escaped his lips as taut muscles gave way under the talented hands. He didn't know how long the massage lasted with Heero working up and down his back, then on his neck and shoulders, but during the process he mentally gave way to completely trusting Heero and as a result, became extremely relaxed and sleepy. By the time Heero pulled those wonderful, talented hands away, Duo felt almost boneless, and speaking slightly incoherently, he mumbled his thanks to his friend and promptly fell asleep.

  
  


Continued

  
  


note: Thanks to all who reviewed. You certainly made my day. ^_^ B.D.


	3. Deviating From the Plan

See the first page for the usual babble

A Grudging Seduction

Part 3, Deviating from the Plan

"Shit!" Duo swore under his breath at the unexpected delay. "This is taking too long." He and Heero had experienced a minimal amount of trouble breaking and entering the base, but it appeared that after they received the stolen information regarding their mission target, the administration office building on the base had been refitted with a new, higher level of electronic security system than they'd previously encountered.

"Can you get it?" Heero asked him for the tenth time, Duo noted to himself, and without a healthy dose of annoyance. 

"I'm doing the best that I can," he answered irritably and just under his breath. "Why wasn't this in the building's specs J sent us?"

Heero didn't bother to answer the question because they both knew it didn't matter at this point. Instead, he kept his eyes moving as he scanned both ends of the corridor for any guards that might suddenly happen upon their attempt to break into the base's main computer room.

The electronic box in Duo's hand, a fun little gift from G, continued to try hundreds of sequences of numbers every fifteen seconds. Out of the apparent ten numbers that set the lock on the security door, the whiz gizmo, as the braided pilot had dubbed it, had already locked onto three of them and was working on the fourth, but the process was taking much too long.

"We're running out of time," Heero hissed the obvious in a tense voice.

A sound in the distance was heard by both teens at the same time and caused them to pause in their bickering. It was the distinct sound of a single soldier's booted footsteps on the linoleum that composed the floor of the hallway. The sound became more clear, making it evident that the person was drawing closer to their position from an adjacent corridor. Heero pulled the electronic lock-picking device out of Duo's hands and almost silently whispered. "I'll do this, you make sure the way out of here is clear."

Duo looked at him like he was out of his mind. "There's no time," he hissed under his breath. "This thing might take another five minutes to find the rest of the combination."

A slight beep sounded, signaling the fourth number had been found, and the continuing low hum told them the small, valuable device was working on the fifth. Heero looked up into Duo's face, his eyes steely. "Go," he mouthed silently, knowing Duo could read his lips.

The braided boy shook his head, stubbornly refusing Heero's order. The sound of the footsteps signaled the guard was nearing the corner roughly twenty-five feet from where they stood.

"Go," Heero said silently, moving his lips to send the message while his head nodded to the opposite direction from that of the approaching guard, his eyes glaring angrily at the impertinent boy baulking at his order.

"Fine," Duo growled unhappily as another beep from the gizmo sounded. He then turned and ran silently down the corridor, but in the opposite direction from which Heero had directed him to go, his braid flying wildly behind him. He fixed his attention towards the sound of the approaching footsteps, wanting to get to the end of the corridor before the unsuspecting person, that was probably a guard on duty, turned the corner. 

Unable to yell at his obstinate partner, blatantly disregarding his orders and well-devised plan, Heero's eyes shifted back and forth between the tool in his hand still flipping numbers quickly and one by one coming up with the remaining ones that were needed to open the lab's door, and Duo, who had reached the end of the corridor and was now paused at the edge of the corner, his back pressed up against the wall as he waited.

The final, almost inaudible beep sounded and the lock to the door clicked open. Heero quickly removed the connectors attached to the number pad and slipped into the dark room just as Duo lunged out towards the unknowing guard turning the corner. He shut the door quietly behind him to focus on the next task.

As a muted scuffle sounded out in the hallway, Heero switched on his flashlight and scanned the computer room. Identifying the usual system of networking that OZ routinely used in their control rooms, he went to the terminal situated on the one desk that was set slightly apart from the others and turned the computer system on.

His fingers worked their usual magic as he quickly scanned the files then popped in a couple of discs from his jacket pocket and downloaded the information regarding the shipments in and out of the base as well as the personnel and base operations information. With that done, he pulled out from another pocketed disc wrapped in cellophane and unwrapping it, slipped it in the drive and downloaded the information onto the computer. After making sure the virus he'd crafted was integrated into the mainframe, he ejected the viral disc, shut down the computer, assured that when they started the system in the morning it would spread quickly, infecting and wiping out the memory banks of every computer on the base. He checked his watch to see that he entire procedure had taken eight minutes, forty five seconds to complete. 

Satisfied that there were no alarms going off, the Wing Gundam pilot went back to the door of the room and eased it open. Sticking his head out, he was pleased to see Duo was nowhere in sight. There was, however, the body of a uniformed OZ soldier laying in an awkward position on the floor near the corner where Duo had first gone. Heero turned to go in the opposite direction, following the route they'd planned to make their escape, hoping he would be reunited with his partner and they could finish planting explosives in the armory, thankfully placed well away from the base's personnel barracks.

He found another body in the stairwell, a sure sign of Duo's passing. Pausing only to check and see if the man was alive or not, Heero cautiously stepped over the sprawled, deceased body and continued climbing up the darkened stairwell, keeping close to the wall and moving quickly while listening for the sounds of anyone else. 

At the top of the stairs, he cautiously eased open the door exiting the stairwell on the second floor of the building and immediately catch sight of several drops of blood on the floor that lead to a long bloody smear. He determined that a body had been dragged away, but the bloody trail stopped short without a body in sight. He wondered briefly why Duo would hide this body when he hadn't bothered with the other two. Listening for any unusual sounds, Heero cautiously left the stairwell and made his way to the window he and Duo had used to enter the building earlier, having duped the security wire within the frame with a piece of Duo's bubble gum so that its opening wasn't detected. The sound of distant running footsteps came to his ears as well as shouting voices, calling out in words sounding urgent and with warning. He realized that someone must have discovered the bodies and an alarm was about to be set off. No sooner had he thought it, than a shrill klaxon came to life, alerting the entire base to be on the defensive. Racing to the window, Heero threw it open and proceeded to climb through it, just as he heard the sound of approaching shouts.

"There's another one!" A man's deep voice yelled in alarm. "Get him."

'Abort mission,' Heero thought to himself as he grabbed hold of the slim rope, dyed to match the color of the gray building and still attached to the window's edge. Heero then slipped down the twenty feet separating him from the ground, jumping the last six feet. The second the soles of his tennis shoes hit the dirt, he was off and running. 

The sirens continued to blare and search lights traced the base's vast grounds, seeking the intruders. Heero kept a wary eye on the lights, managing to time and dodge them when they came in close proximity to his position. He continued sprinting, making his way towards the cut in the fence they'd made less than an hour ago when the two of them had entered the base. He hoped to find Duo waiting for him just beyond that point along with the motorcycle. With any luck, his mission partner would already have it uncovered from its camouflaged netting and be ready to go because from the looks of it, OZ would be hot on their heels in a few minutes.

It was unfortunate that one of the search lights caught a glimpse of him and, after its sighting, the brightly lit beam of light locked on and followed his escape as he made it to the cut fence, and slipped through the jagged opening without catching his clothing or skin on the sharp cut edges. The sound of rifles being fired in the not so far distance were clearly heard and the dull thud of bullets hitting the ground around him pressed him onward into the shelter of the wooded area, twenty feet beyond the fenced perimeter of the base. 

With the pack of un-detonated explosives repeatedly slapping against his back as he ran, Heero was reminded with each step that the mission was incomplete, and his irritation at the entire situation was beginning to spread to his partner. He'd expected to meet up with the other boy by now, no doubt wearing that familiar smirk on his face that challenged the soldier within him to do his best. He thought as he ran that he should have run into Duo by now. Following the path they'd used in approaching the base, Heero was relieved when he came to the slight clearing where the motorcycle was hidden. He blinked with disbelief as he took in his surroundings and the information that came with it. The bike was where they had left it, still camouflaged, and Duo was nowhere in sight.

  
  


He waited as long as he could, sitting astride the black bike, hoping his partner would magically appear out of the darkness of the wooded area. But instead of the minute sounds of his fleet footed partner, it was the sounds of dogs baying and the voices of searching soldiers that grew closer. Deciding they were almost upon him, the Wing pilot reluctantly started the powerful motorcycle, revved the engine, and braved turning the headlight on to help navigate his way through the dense growth of trees. Any sounds of gunfire or shouts aimed at him were lost in the rumbling sounds of the powerful engine beneath him as he made his escape.

Reaching the main road, he turned the headlight off, but instead of following the strip of pavement going north to south, he crossed over it and plunged into the woods on the other side. He continued into the camouflaging landscape for about a mile, then brought the bike to a stop and turned the engine off.

"Mission failed," he growled under his breath. Frustration had him gripping the handlebars of the motorcycle tightly. There was nothing he hated more than to leave a mission unfinished. He paused for only a moment to clear his head, then came to the quick, decisive conclusion that he couldn't leave Duo in the hands of their enemy. The L-2 pilot had suffered under their care before and Heero didn't want to have to see the aftereffects of another information gathering session with overly aggressive soldiers trying to prove a name for themselves by not only capturing a gundam pilot, but by wringing information out of him.

He had to go back, Heero decided. Tonight. They wouldn't be expecting him to return to the same base on the same night, he rationalized. He checked his watch and saw that it was one thirty a.m. He would wait an hour for things to settle down back at the base, then walk the bike back on foot, park it near the base's perimeter fence again and slip back into its confines while the soldiers settled back into their beds after the late night shake up. He began to mentally plan step by step for a way to retrieve the other pilot, plant the explosives, thereby completing his mission. With that decided, some of the tension and frustration eased from his taunt muscles. He walked over to the nearest tree, sat at the base of it and waited for the hour to pass.

  
  


Continuing


	4. Deliverance

  
  


A Grudging Seduction

A story by Bane's Desire 

Part 4: Deliverance

It took two hours for Heero to retrace his steps and return to the base with a new mission in mind. Cutting a new hole in the fence on the opposite side of the base from where he and Duo had entered before, the interloper made his way to the building located at the base's center. From the plans he'd been supplied beforehand, he knew that the base commander's administrative offices as well as the medical unit were housed in that particular building. He'd calculated that Duo would most likely be in one section of the building or the other, depending on if he was being interrogated or if he were wounded.

Climbing the outside corner of the stuccoed wall with a level of stealth that would seem almost impossible to most people, he worked his way up a drainage pipe on the southwest corner of the building, wincing whenever the metal groaned even slightly under his weight, Heero achieved the rooftop of the four-storey stucco building and slipped gracefully over the top edge. His eyes scanned the flat rooftop and it appeared for the moment that good fortune was going to be his companion this night after all. In the dim illuminated light coming from the stars and slivered moon above, he could faintly see the shadow of a guard performing his rounds to his left, on the north side of the flat roof and walking slowly in a counter clock wise direction. It was clear that he'd been quiet enough in gaining the rooftop that the man wasn't aware of his presence. Silently removing his knife from his boot, he crouched down low, his black attire blending perfectly within the shadows to hide his presence, and he waited, his eyes never leaving the shadowed form of the unsuspecting soldier as he drew nearer to his position. The unknowing man never had a chance to cry out for help for he was dead a scant second after Heero had made use of the knife at his throat.

Wiping the blood off his blade against the fallen man's pant leg, Wing's pilot kept low as he pulled the dead man's body further into the shadows in order to keep him from being discovered before his mission was complete. Satisfied the body was out of sight, he studied his position relative to the building's layout that he had memorized in his head, then moved to reposition himself above a set of office windows. He then pulled his spare coiled rope from out of the zippered pouch of his backpack and anchored it around an exhaust pipe that was one of many poking out of the roof's surface. With the knot on one end of the rope secured, he threw the rest of it over the side of the wall. 

Gripping the rope in his hands, he swung his body over the wall and lowered himself a short way down the side of the building, coming to a stop in front of a window on the fourth floor. With his foot wrapped securely around the rope, anchoring his position, he paused a moment to spit out into his fingers the piece of gum he'd been chewing on since leaving the motorcycle and stuck it between his ring and little finger on his right hand. Then with his knife in the same hand, he began to gently pry the window open, grateful again that OZ had appropriated such an old Alliance building for its own use and hadn't had the time to update the exterior security, which was ancient in comparison to the lock they'd found in the main computer room. Popping the window up and out of its track, he instantly clamped down on the wire connected to the security system with his fingers, then as quick as a blink of an eye he placed the wad of gum over the two ends, fooling the easily duped system in the exact same manner as Duo had done earlier. 

With the backpack of explosives strapped securely to his back, he carefully swung his body inside the opening and dropped silently down onto the linoleum floor with both feet. He shut the window behind him, leaving it slightly ajar, the bottom edge just a fraction of an inch away from the sticky gum in case he needed a quick escape. He scanned the dark room, discerning in the shadows office furniture that was scattered and stacked around the room. It looked as if the room was being used for storage for miscellaneous furniture. Not seeing what he needed, he make his way to the door of the office leading to the corridor. Opening the door with silent caution, he made a quick scan of the hallway, making sure it was empty. He found it was, but knew he couldn't count on it being so for long.

Moving quickly and without making any sound, he crossed the hallway to another office and jimmied the lock, he then entered the dark room a moment later and quickly scanned the interior. This room appeared to be used for clerical work with computers, printers and copiers crowding the utilitarian space. His eyes landed on the object of his search and he made his way towards one of the computers and turned it on. Searching the mainframe files, he found and brought up to the screen a current directory of the building and memorized the information he needed to rescue his partner. The base commander's office was listed as being on this very floor but on the opposite side from where he was positioned at the moment. He mentally marked the room, then located the medical offices two floors down. Having gotten the information he needed, he turned off the computer and turned to leave the room.

He opened the outer office door once again, but instead of hearing the silence that had greeted him before, the sound of unhurried footsteps on the linoleum floor of the hallway alerted him to the presence and approach of someone, probably a guard on duty, most likely making his rounds. Heero realized he probably didn't have much time left until the man on the roof was discovered and the alarm would be sounded once again. He would have to act fast if he and Duo were going to make it out of there before that happened.

He silently closed the door, locked it, then went to a desk located in one of the darker corners of the room and ducked under it, feeling grateful that it had solid wood sides. He crouched there, gun in hand with the safety off, and silently waited. The doorknob to the room rattled, then came the tinkling sound of a key being searched for amongst many others. The found key entered the lock a second before the door swung open. Heero saw the tight beam of a bright flashlight turn on and made a sweep of the room in a cursory search. After a moment, it was turned off with an audible click. The guard was obviously satisfied that nothing was out of order for the door was closed, locked, and retreating footsteps were clearly heard. Only then did Heero let out the breath he'd been holding.

Leaving the room several moments later, he decided it would be safer to follow behind the on-duty guard, estimating his chances of running into any other base personnel lessened by keeping close to the retreating form. 

Staying out of sight, he followed the man's path as he made his rounds on the building's fourth floor, oblivious to the fact that he being followed by a notorious gundam pilot. Heero was appalled at the minimal amount of energy the man put into his job as he watched each room receive the most minute search, similar to the room he'd hidden in moments before. He thought to himself that if OZ was filled with soldiers such as this man, displaying such lackadaisical dedication to his duty, their winning the war was assured. 

As the guard continued on, Heero opened the doors to the same rooms just checked with the lock picks Duo had given him earlier in the week. He then strategically set the plastic explosives and timers as he followed, placing them out of sight in random room. Making sure the soldier in front of him was always within earshot, he realized they were coming close to the area where Duo might be held, the base commander's office. 

It took fifteen minutes from the time he began following the man dressed in a standard OZ uniform for him to check the doors of each room and closet before he passed what Heero identified from the floor plans in his memory as the office he was looking for. The room was occupied, or so it seemed by the spilling of light into the dark hallway from a small security window to the right and center of the door and the armed guard that stood outside it as a sentry.

The low hum of voices speaking behind the closed door could be heard from out in the corridor, and the guard making the rounds paused momentarily to listen and give a nod of acknowledgment to the uniformed man guarding the door. A loud slap of flesh on flesh came from the room. That distinct sound accompanied a barked, unintelligible command. Heero watched as the guard on patrol tensed, held his gun tighter to his side, then proceeded down the corridor, continuing his inept check of the darkened rooms once more. 

Heero waited until the guard rounded the far corner then quickly, soundlessly, reached back and pulled his gun and its accompanying silencer out of his pack. With efficiency drilled into him since he could remember, he assembled it and held the well-worn, familiar handle in both hands. Making sure the guard was alone, he turned the corner, held up the lethal weapon with both hands to steady his aim, then fired off one shot, the gun making a soft 'pfft' sound. He instantly bolted, running the short distance towards the falling soldier to catch the gun on his shoulder before it clattered onto the floor along with the man. 

Another slap of skin was heard from behind the door, more clearly this time as was the angry male voice that came from inside the room. "Wake up you piece of shit!" A deep voice ordered sternly. A slight moan was the only response to the man's surly order.

"We should probably have the doctor see to him before he bleeds to death," another voice inside the room advised, sounding somewhat nervous.

"It would save OZ the cost of the bullet it would take to execute him if he did bleed to death," the first man's bitter voice replied. "But I'll get some information out of him before that happens," the man added. "Give me that bottle of water."

A scarce moment later Heero heard the sounds of spluttering and coughing. "What the hell? Whadareya try'en to do, drown me?" Duo's voice came out slurred but understandable, and his words were followed by coughing. Heero decided his partner sounded weak and strained. He concluded that Duo must be badly hurt to sound that bad.

"Shut up and listen to me, kid," the first voice hissed. 

"Son of a bitch!" Duo cried out more coherently. "Stop pulling the hair. I thought that was how girls fight, not men!"

Heero frowned. He'd repeatedly told Duo his braid was a liability, something to be used against him. It seemed his prediction had come true.

"Shut up you little shit," the voice of the angry man growled out. "You either start answering my questions or I may just start getting them the hard way by cutting that bullet out of your leg with your own knife." There was a click that Heero recognized as the sound of a switch blade being open, a sound he'd often heard coming from the direction his partner. He remembered many a time turning around to see what Duo was doing with his blade open only to see the other pilot cleaning his fingernails, cutting an apple or just studying the gleam of the well kept, shining metal. That unforgettable sound was followed by a long pause. "Looks like you keep it pretty sharp," the first voice said in a sinister, contemplating manner. "I can't help wonder how many men you've killed with it."

"Ya don't really wanna know," Duo mumbled, almost too low for Heero to catch.

"What were you and your partner doing on the base? What did you do before we caught you?"

"Got you a little worried, haven't we?" Duo chuckled darkly. "What could a couple of your smarter than average kids do within a thirty minute time span in your facilities?"

Heero really wished the other pilot would learn not to taunt his enemies. They always took their anger and frustration out on him more harshly than any one of the other pilots had ever experienced. He suspected it was mostly because Duo couldn't help taunting them. Another hard slap of skin against skin was heard as well as an accompanying grunt.

"Well, ya hit harder than a girl, that's for sure," Duo snarled after spitting, probably blood laced saliva, Heero thought.

"Answer my question you brat. What were you doing here?"

"That's for me to know and for you.... Hey! Wait a sec." Duo voice rose in pitch and anxiety. "Oh God!" 

Heero heard a strangled scream coming from his partner. He figured the muffled sound came through Duo's clenched teeth. Not willing to wait another moment, he burst into the room, and before the men could turn around, his silencer took them down as they stood over the boy dressed in black and slumped over in a chair in the center of the room. He quickly noted that Duo was held immobile and upright by ropes tied around his arms, legs and chest.

The two soldiers had fallen to the carpet with barely a sound. Heero moved quickly to remove their weapons from them, tucking the two guns he found into his belt. Without further hesitation, he turned and pulled the dead man in the hallway into the office and closed the office door, then abandoned him to go straight to his comrade's side. On his approach, he noted the black-clad, slender body was shaking, a sure sign that Duo was going into shock. The knife, which he recognized as Duo's switchblade, was imbedded to the hilt in his left thigh, located centimeters from a bullet hole that was oozing the traumatized boy's dark, thick blood, soaking the material of his pants.

Checking over his mission partner, Heero put his fingertips under Duo's chin and lifted the other boy's face, noting that under his half closed eyelids his eyes were rolled back and his face was pale and moist with sweat. Knowing the wounded boy was in an extreme amount of pain, Heero could only come up with one solution to the current dilemma. He reached down, firmly wrapped his hand around the knife handle and quickly pulled up, causing Duo to moan miserably at the renewed pain at the blade's removal from his abused flesh and muscle.

Using the same bloody knife, Heero quickly cut away the ropes and caught the braided boy from falling out of the chair as the bindings fell away. 

"Come on, Duo. We've got to get out of here," he whispered into the traumatized boy's ear. If Duo heard him, he was unable to reply. Heero set the other boy down on the floor, well away from the other dead men. He worked quickly to rip a sleeve off one of the deceased bodies then bound the material around Duo's bleeding thigh, hoping to stop the flow of blood from his open wounds. Seeing no alternative to getting out of there, Wing's pilot bent over and slung the slender teenager over his shoulder, suddenly grateful for the other pilot's lack of weight. He held Duo's dangling legs in place with a firm hold of his arms over the backs of his thighs in order to prevent him from rolling off the edge of his shoulder. Moving towards the door and stepping over the body he'd dragged in, Heero opened it with caution and stuck his head out to scan the corridor for the guard. Seeing it was clear, he exited the room more silently than how he'd entered. Turning off the office light, he shut the door quietly behind him, hoping the returning guard wouldn't discover the dead men before he had a chance to escape.

Following the same direction the soldier on guard duty had gone five minutes before, Heero proceeded with extreme caution, his senses on full alert while being mindful not to make any sound that would give him away. Coming upon a stairwell, he moved into it with his shouldered burden and carefully descended the stairs. He'd come to the conclusion that leaving the building the way he'd entered was definitely out of the question with the current physical condition of the other pilot. He'd have to improvise on getting them out of there, something he wasn't always comfortable doing. He was a planner, working out any or all details of a mission before beginning it. Duo was the spontaneous fighter, ready for change at any given moment. But his mission partner was unable to lend him any ideas at the moment, so it was up to him to figure their way out of there.

Though he'd heard sounds of soldiers moving about in the corridors and twice entering the stairwell above and below him, he made it to the first floor undetected and cracked the door open just enough to get an idea of the area just beyond it. He could see from that brief glance that there were more guards on duty than when they'd broken in earlier, probably due to their earlier discovery and Duo's capture. Under normal circumstances it would have been more than possible for him to have gotten out of the building without being spotted or killed, but Duo's condition prevented him from using any of the escape routes he would normally use from the second and third storeys. 

With a huff of frustration, he carefully set the wounded boy down, placing his back against the wall just behind the door leading to the first floor's corridor, with his forearm pushing against his partner's chest in order to keep his slack body upright. Holding him in place, Wing's pilot took a moment, allowing himself a moment to analyze the situation.

No more than a minute passed before he reached into his backpack and took out the remote detonator that had been set to trigger the four charges he'd placed on the third floor. It was risky, setting off the explosives above them, the whole building could come crashing down on their heads, depending on how well it was built. But there was no way to separate the set charges now so that they could go off individually, limiting the amount of damage to the building and bettering their chances of escaping in the confusion. There was nothing else to be done about it now, he decided, and he set his finger against the green-lit, blinking button.

It was fortuitous that at that very moment Duo moaned as he began to regain consciousness. Hearing it, Heero was quick to clamp his hand over the other boy's mouth and watched as his comrade jerked at his touch and his eyes shot open. A look of recognition blinked into those odd-colored blue eyes belonging to his companion, mere inches from his face.

"Quiet," Heero mouthed silently.

Duo nodded, showing he understood. 

With Duo conscious, Heero rethought his options. He pocketed the remote and let go of the other boy, seeing Duo could now sit up on his own. Checking the two guns he acquired from the men upstairs and seeing they were fully loaded, he placed them in the other boy's hands, then motioned for him to stay put. Without further explanation, he took the backpack with him and scurried down the stairs to the floor below, returning back to the other boy's side in less than five minutes.

He found that Duo had managed to remain awake, yet during his absence the wounded American had slumped down bonelessly to his right side to lay on the floor and peered up through the long strands of hair that fell over his forehead when Heero reappeared.

Wing's pilot quickly reached down and unceremoniously pulled the other pilot up to a standing position, supporting him by holding him under his arms and against his chest and, with a finger to his lips, signaled for Duo to remain silent. He placed them both tightly into the corner behind the exit door and covered Duo protectively with his own body. Seeing they were as secure as he could manage, Heero pulled the remote detonator out of the waistband of his pants and depressed the button. After only a slight moment's delay, the building rocked from the violent explosion above and below their position. Screams of fear as well as alarms sounded in the corridor beyond the door as the tremors settled a moment later and a cloud of heated smoke and dust rose up the stairwell while chunks of debris from above fell through the open space to crash loudly onto the floor below. The two teens remained in place during the next few moments and then the door they hid behind was flung open, squeezing them further into the corner and hiding their presence as Oz soldiers barreled through, armed with guns and fire extinguishers as they rapidly flew down the stairwell without detecting their presence. Heero noted the soldiers' voices sounded panicked as they called out to each other as they raced down the stairs to literally put out the fire.

He waited for the last man to disappear before moving from his position and quickly bent to put Duo over his shoulder once again. This time the boy was conscious and protested, mindful to keep his voice down. "Dammit, Heero. I can walk. You can't possibly carry me outta here and escape. Besides, it's embarrassing to have my ass up in the air as a target," he complained

His protestations were ignored as Heero hefted him over his shoulder, and his complaints ended altogether when Wing's pilot forcefully pinched his upper thigh soundly to let him know he was in charge. Duo yelped quietly in response, then quickly gripped Heero's belt to secure his position, a sign of his capitulation. Satisfied there would be no more complaining, Heero opened the door to the corridor beyond and, after a quick scan of the area, exited their hiding place and began to run towards the entrance of the building, hoping to slip out in the surrounding confusion.

The base was in the second stage of chaos with the warning klaxons sounding and soldiers, men and women, in and out of uniform, were running around, seemingly organized but with a look of panic on their faces. The foyer he'd hoped to sneak out of was not as chaotic and frenzied as he'd hoped. Numerous armed soldiers were gathered there. Many of them were being led out of the door in an organized manner in small groups, those waiting for their escort stood patiently, covering their mouths and coughing as smoke drifted up from the fires beneath them and began to pollute the main floor of the building. Heero had hoped to get them out of there well before the alarm sent the occupants of the building out of their offices, but he'd delayed too long. There was no way he could get himself and Duo out that way. He retreated back down the corridor he'd just come from and used his silencer to shoot open the locked door to an office located on the outside wall of the building.

Shutting the door behind him, he set Duo on the edge of a desk and motioned with his hand for him to stay put. Then going behind the metal piece of office furniture, he picked up the chair behind the desk and with a powerful swing of his arms, flung the bulky mass through the glass window, shattering it and giving him a ready exit.

Duo was already standing, struggling to balance on one foot when Heero reached his side. The braided boy didn't fuss this time when Heero unceremoniously threw him over his shoulder and made for the window.

"Hold tight," he warned a brief moment before he leapt over the window sill that was covered with hundreds of shards of glass.

  
  


Duo's chin collided with Heero's spine as a result of the jarring impact with the ground beneath the window he'd jumped out of, his teeth painfully crashing together. He was grateful to note that at least he hadn't bitten off part of his tongue. He held tightly to Heero's belt as the Wing pilot began to run as quickly as he could manage with Duo flopping heavily against his back. Upside down, his view blocked by Heero's body, Duo couldn't make a correct analysis of their progress, whether they were truly escaping or running into a trap. But he figured the longer they ran with no signs of pursuit, the better their chances were of escaping.

The sound of a gun firing behind them ended that train of thought.

"Put.. me.. down, Heero," Duo shouted, his voice coming out sounding like he was on a bumpy road, which he guessed wasn't far from the truth. If he could just get Heero to put him down, the Wing pilot would have a better chance of escaping. Hanging upside down on his back, Duo figured he was a sitting duck for the pot shots being aimed their way.

"Come..on. Sitting...duck!" He cried out again, hearing more guns being fired and distant angry shouts growing in number.

Heero didn't stop completely, but after a few more steps he slowed down a fraction to swing Duo from off his shoulder, taking him by surprise. The American instantly regretted having said anything as his injured leg burst into blinding pain as it hit the ground. He regained his senses quickly and realized they were standing at the cut fence and Heero was leading him through the opening as carefully and swiftly as possible.

"It's only about fifty feet to the motorcycle," Heero stated, his voice cool and clipped as he pulled Duo along with a supporting arm wrapped around his waist.

The guns behind them sounded again, having paused momentarily as they passed through the fencing. They'd gone no further than ten feet when the report of a gun coincided with Heero suddenly jerking with a twist to his left and stumbling to the ground.

"Get up!" Duo shouted, his voice laced with panic as he pulled at Heero's upper arm. "Don't do this, Heero. Don't quit on me now." 

A moan came from the other boy, and with Duo's persistent tugging, Heero slowly crawled onto his hands and knees then lurched almost drunkenly to his feet. Without a word, the two hung onto each other for support as they lumbered forward towards the direction of the motorcycle. Duo became aware of the fact that Heero was favoring his right arm and side. He'd obviously been hit but was using his stubborn, dogged determination to move him in order to avoid being captured. Duo's good estimation of the other pilot rose considerably. He might not be the most sociable, personable, talkative or polite person he'd ever met, but the boy from L-2 knew he'd never have a better partner to carry out his missions with than Heero Freaking-Nuts Yuy.

It took the two of them to lift the heavy black motorcycle from the ground, their efforts doubling when the sound of approaching soldiers came to their ears. Noting Heero's sluggish movements, Duo knew he was hurt more than he was letting on.

"I'll drive," he offered, and with great effort and a lot of pain he managed to climb onto the long seat and take the front position on the bike. Heero paused only a fraction of a second before he leaned heavily on his teammates shoulder and clumsily moved to sit behind him and wrapped his left arm tightly around his partner's waist. The engine revved to life a second before Duo caused it to pop a wheelie and it shot off into the forest, leaving the soldiers cursing after them, shooting their guns in a wild attempt to hinder their escape and, thankfully, completely missing their mark. 

The wind blew sharp and cool on the faces of the two boys who made good their escape. Duo was acutely aware of the throbbing pain that emanated from his wounded leg and the uncontrolled shaking that had taken over his body earlier had returned. He clamped his teeth together to keep them from chattering, figuring he was probably suffering from shock and blood loss. He welcomed the warmth of Heero's body as the other boy leaned heavily against his back, his arm wound tightly around his waist. The briefest hint of ragged breathing in his ear told him of his mission partner's physical distress. It then it dawned on him that Heero had never before allowed himself this much physical contact between the two of them. He could only hope that Heero's trust in him was a sure sign that he'd truly broken through the other boy's defenses. It gave him hope that his work during the past week towards that specific goal had succeeded, and he'd be damned if he'd let Heero's newfound trust in him falter by not getting him back to their room.

"Hold on, Heero," he shouted against the wind, hoping his words reached the other boy. "I'll get us back to the dorm and then I'll look at your wounds. You'll be okay, buddy. I swear, I won't let you down." Feeling the slight nod of Heero's head against his shoulder, the Deathscythe pilot raced faster than was safe through the wooded area, his skill at guiding the bike in near total darkness was sufficient enough to bring them to the main road safely and in record time. Planning to keep the bike's headlights off for at least five miles, the two injured boys began the thirty-five minute trek down the dark, moon-lit road towards the safety their dorm room, unknowing of the next ill-fated calamity that would take place on that very road, making their journey back to safety much more difficult.

  
  


Continued soon


	5. A Call For Help

Disclaimers and warnings on page one

A Grudging Seduction

Part 5- A Call For Help

With a jerk and a gasp Heero woke up from a disturbing dream where he was falling off the back of a motorcycle. As his mind began to clear from the dream and taking in his surroundings, he realized that it hadn't been a dream at all. His aching body and fuzzed memories now recalled that on top of being injured on the mission, he'd also been in a motorcycle accident. He remembered the pain in his shoulder from the bullet he caught, the wind whipping around him as he struggled focus on holding onto Duo while riding behind him on the motorcycle, willing himself to maintain consciousness as the other boy raced them back to the dorm with a promise to patch the both of them up. His thoughts lingered on the oddly pleasant memory of leaning heavily against Duo's warm back as the wind whipped furiously by them. He must have either fallen asleep or passed out because the next thing he vaguely remembered was Duo's voice shouting a warning and the bike swerving violently. He'd opened his eyes just in time to see the bike tilting to the right and the ground rushing by until the dirt and grass came up to meet him. After that, he had no memory as to what had happened.

Registering the strong ache in his right shoulder that radiated down to his right side, he realized that the rest of his body was hurting also, more so than was the usual pain after a mission. His right thigh and upper arm in particular stung horribly. Ignoring the irritating pain, he turned his head to survey the room, seeing the familiar surroundings of the dorm room he and Duo shared. By the faint light filtering through the shutters covering the one window in the room, he noted that it was either early morning or evening. At least they'd made it back, he thought with some relief. He looked further, to the bed opposite his, to see Duo resting on his back, his blankets were pulled up to his chin and his eyes were closed in slumber. The long familiar braid that lay limp on the bed next to him was severely frazzled and in the worst condition Heero had ever seen it. His partner, he decided, must be in terrible shape to have let his hair remain in such a condition.

His eyes shot to the doorway of their room at the sound of a key being put in the lock. He automatically reached under his pillow for his gun, only to find it missing. After a click sounded, the door swung open. He was surprised at the unexpected appearance of Wufei entering their room, carrying several brown paper bags in his arms.

Sensing he was being observed, Wufei looked at him, nodded his head respectfully in greeting and simply said, "Evening, Heero." He nodded back, realizing from Wufei's salutation that he'd slept the day away. He kept his eyes on the other pilot as he shut the door quietly behind him then put the two shopping bags on Duo's desk. He turned and quickly moved to the bed opposite Heero's to check on Duo's unmoving body to see if he'd awakened yet.

"What are you doing here?" Heero found his voice was thick and groggy sounding when he spoke.

"Duo called before dawn this morning. Said he needed a little help." Wufei replied as he put the bags on top of Duo's desk. "That was certainly the understatement of the year," he mumbled under his breath. Heero's sensitive hearing caught every word and he looked over to the other bed and to the unmoving boy, worry creeping over him.

"He had a leg wound. Did it become infected?"

"A deep knife puncture in the left thigh and next to a bullet wound that I had to cut open further to get the bullet out; yes, I'd call that a leg wound." Wufei replied, sarcasm heavy in his tone of voice. "But added to that was the loss of most of the skin on the right side of his body when he attempted to shield you after you began to fall off the back of the motorcycle. It upset the balance of the bike which he fought to keep upright one handed while his other hand was occupied with keeping you off the asphalt."

"I vaguely remember something like that happening. We fell on dirt and grass."

"He managed to get to the soft shoulder of the road before you both toppled off."

"How is he?" Heero turned his head, looking at the unmoving boy's profile. It seemed unnatural to see Duo so still with no sound, laughter or verbal, detailed insight to his surroundings. It felt... wrong.

"He's in a lot of pain." Wufei replied, looking thoughtfully at the other boy. "He holds you in high esteem, you know. Wouldn't let me treat his wounds until I dug the bullet out of your shoulder first and cleaned the scrapes on your arm and leg."

Heero's only response was to raise a surprised, questioning eyebrow.

"I gave him some pain pills that also contain a sleep inducer. It should hold him until Quatre and Trowa get here in the morning."

"What?" Heero couldn't have heard right. The other three pilots were supposed to be on missions.

"We finished our last mission," Wufei answered the unasked question. "They're coming here to help me move the both of you to a safehouse Quatre has set up. Someplace quiet and unobtrusive where you and Duo can recuperate."

"I'll be fully functional in a couple of days," Heero began to protest. "Then I'll resume my missions."

"But Duo won't be." Wufei's eyes were dark and forbidding. "The three of us be covering the extra missions while the two of you recuperate. You will stay behind with Duo until he's better. And you will do it, Yuy," the Chinese boy said firmly, his gaze and tone of voice brooking no complaint or excuse. "You owe him."

"I went back to the base and rescued him after he'd gotten himself captured. I think we're even," Heero shot back with a frown. Even to his own ears his voice sounded harsh and unfeeling and he wondered why that suddenly disturbed him so much.

The other boy gave him a disapproving glare, then turned to dig into the bags he'd brought in and pulled out several items and tossed them to him. A saran-wrapped sandwich, a container of juice and an orange landed with a dull thud on his blankets. Heero reached for the sandwich and watched as Wufei brought one out for himself. 

"Duo's going to be starving when he wakes up," Heero informed the other boy, trying to break the tense silence that had suddenly come between them. And his statement was truthful; Duo was always ravenous after a mission, not to mention he'd gone a whole day without food.

"I'm fully prepared for that contingency," Wufei replied confidently just before taking a bite of his own sandwich. The two ate their meal in a relative silence that they both were quite comfortable with.

  
  


Contrary to Heero's prediction, Duo's first thoughts when he woke up around two a.m. was not his stomach. Both the pain and sleeping medication had worn off much more quickly than Wufei had anticipated. The Altron pilot meticulously tended to the woeful boy's wounds while the recipient of his ministrations managed to keep his complaints about the painful treatment limited to quiet, muffled moans.

Heero lay silent and unmoving on his bed, listening to Duo who was obviously in a lot of pain. He kept his silence while listening to Wufei's soft and steady voice reassuring the braided pilot that he would feel better soon, that the ointment he was applying to the area of raw, scraped flesh would help to heal him with minimal scarring. Shutting his eyes, he tried to block out Duo's quiet pleas for Wufei to stop and leave him the hell alone. His efforts failed and Heero realized that Wufei had most likely detached himself from the situation as he continued to perform the necessary first aid to their fellow comrade.

It took a total of twenty minutes for the Chinese pilot to finish doctoring the wounded boy's injuries. He then helped Duo to sit up and pushed several pills into his mouth before giving him a glass of water accompanied by a stern order to swallow them down. Heero watched and noted that Duo emptied the entire contents of the glass in one attempt, seeming desperate for the water. After settling the wounded pilot back down and making him as comfortable as possible, the Shenlong pilot sat on the edge of their comrade's bed exchanging whispered comments with Duo. Heero strained to hear what they were saying, but couldn't make out anything that made sense. When at last the room fell silent once again, he watched as Wufei stood, covered the sleeping boy with his blankets again, then picked up the herb ointment and first aid kit and moved to put them away. He stopped short when he saw that Heero was awake and watching him. 

"I'll show you tomorrow how to tend to his wounds to insure they won't become infected."

"Hn." Heero nodded, though he doubted the other boy could see him.

"Would you like me to change your bandages now or in the morning?" Wufei asked while stifling a yawn. 

"I'm fine until morning. Go back to sleep."

The items in Wufei's hands were quickly put away and the black haired boy settled back down to the sleeping bag on the carpeted floor and silence filled the dorm room once again.

Quatre and Trowa arrived amidst the hustle and bustle of students moving from the cafeteria to their morning classes. It would have been considered impossible for the two newcomers could enter the dorms without notice, but with Trowa, a master at stealth and blending in, leading the way, it came as no surprise to the three waiting in the dorm room that their entry into their small living space was easily accomplished. However, it was a given that removing the two injured boys from the school would not be as easy an undertaking to accomplish especially with Heero stubbornly insisting he leave on his own two feet, while Duo didn't want to be touched or moved from his bed. Still groggy with the drugs Wufei had been feeding him on a regular basis, the long haired boy protested the idea of leaving his bed between gritted teeth and repeatedly wished his three, well-intentioned friends an expressway trip to hell.

Trowa and Quatre shared an amused grin at Duo's curses, not understanding the severity of their friend's wounds until Wufei forcefully pulled back Duo's covers to reveal the damage to the boy's slender body. 

"Oh, Duo." Quatre moved quickly forward to comfort his friend, but stopped short of touching him. His eyes fell on Duo's damaged body, laying on blood splattered sheets with only a towel draped over his slender hips to lend him some modesty. The exposed skin on much of the right side of his body was shredded, with raw, ugly red tissue that had to be terribly painful. The damage was concentrated on his right calf, thigh, ribs and arm as well as a small scrape on his face. Though the towel covered it, Quatre was sure Duo's hip was in an equally dismal state. On his left leg, a rectangular shaped bandage was wrapped around the middle of his thigh. Wufei explained to the newly arrived the two wounds that lay underneath that bandage.

"How do you propose we move him?" Trowa asked, his trained eyes taking in all of Duo's wounds and the pained, pinched look around his wary eyes.

"Not goin' nowhere," Duo grumbled. 

His comment was completely ignored as Wufei answered the Heavyarms pilot without taking his eyes off the wounded boy. "No matter what method we undertake to get him out of here, it's going to hurt. First, we have to dress him. I think my loose workout gi will be the easiest article of clothing to put over his wounds." He pointed to the bottom of the bed to the folded black cotton outfit, then looked directly to the blond and brunette. "Trowa, you help me with dressing Duo and Quatre can assist Heero. I think our best chance for leaving here undetected will be during this morning's classes when the students and staff are otherwise occupied."

Another pain/sleeping pill was given to Duo and they waited twenty minutes for it to kick in. With his usual stubbornness, the L-2 teen fought the overwhelming feeling of sleepiness, his defenses, though weak, were still strong enough for him to want to protect himself, even from his friends. 

Dressing the American proved difficult, not only for the boy in question, but for the other two who took great pains to be careful in completing the task. No matter how hard they tried not to add more discomfort to the wounded boy. From his pitiful moans and assorted curses it was obvious they failed. Several times Wufei admonished the braided boy to stop biting his lower lip when he observed blood was beginning to come through the deep teeth marks he'd made in his lower lip.

Quatre helped a more cooperative Heero to dress, noting that the Japanese boy's wounds were less severe than Duo's, but still looked painful. The blond teen couldn't help but marvel at Heero's strength, how he could push aside his physical discomfort when he chose to do so. Once the Wing pilot was fully dressed and sitting on the edge of his bed, Quatre set out to pack up their belongings into the two duffles he'd found in the closet, knowing from being around the two which items belonged to whom.

Trowa and Wufei stepped back from Duo's bed, having completed the task of dressing him. Duo lay tense and panting as a result with sweat glistening on his face. His eyes were shut tightly and visible moisture was forming under the long lashes, making his two friends feel guilty for hurting him.

"I've packed all of their things." Quatre's quiet voice came from behind them.

Wufei nodded. "We'll let Duo rest a moment before we leave."

They actually ended up waiting a half hour before the braided boy's breathing began a slow, rhythmic pattern, indicating he'd finally succumbed to the drug inducing sleep.

"The eastern door of the dorm leads to the parking lot. It's the best escape route," Heero informed the other three in a quiet voice, not wanting to disturb the sleeping boy. "It's on the far side of the classrooms and out of sight of the administrative offices. Do you have a car?"

"I rented one," Quatre replied, patting his pocket so that the others could hear the tinkling of keys. He then picked up the two nearly identical black duffle bags and shouldered them. "Ready to go?"

Heero nodded, and seeing it, Wufei went towards Duo's bed, angling himself to pick the sleeping teen up so that his less wounded side would rest against his torso.

"Want some help?" Trowa offered, but the hesitation in his voice and uneasy stance clearly showed that he had no idea how he could accomplish aiding the Chinese teen without hurting Duo further.

"Just grab the sheets and catch the door on the way out," Wufei answered, carefully easing Duo's limp body out of his bed and into his arms. Though drugged, the movement disturbed the injured boy back to wakefulness and Wufei paused. It took a lot of resolve for the Chinese youth to ignore his comrade's quiet pleas to be left alone. Thankfully, only a few moments passed until Duo's voice faded and he slipped back into his induced slumber.

Trowa quickly pulled the bloody sheets off of both beds, wadded the material up and put the combined bundle under his arm. Receiving a nod from Wufei that he was ready, he then led the way out of the dorm room, holding the door open for Quatre, aiding Heero by taking his left arm, then Wufei and Duo. He then quietly shut the door behind them and moved to the front of the group to take point. Together the five left the school as discretely as possible and without interruption. They swiftly drove away from the campus towards the location of their next safehouse in a nondescript car legally obtained from a rental agency by Quatre's seemingly endless supply of cash.

  
  


Continuing soon

*****


	6. Who's Seducing Whom

Everything you need to know is on the first page of this story.

Bane's Desire

A Grudging Seduction

Part 6, Who's Seducing Whom

The next time Duo woke up he found himself in a small, unfamiliar bedroom containing two twin beds, one immaculately made up, the corners folded tightly, and the one in which he was neatly tucked into. There was also a small desk resting between the beds that sat under the windowsill of the one window in the room. On top of it was a familiar looking, open laptop. The object of Heero's obsession was on, but the blue screen displayed only diaphanous bubbles floating from the bottom of the top of the screen, obviously a screen saver. Duo had to wonder at Heero's choice, thinking that with his experiences with the ocean on his arrival on Earth, that it would be the last thing he'd want to be reminded of. Knowing that the dedicated Wing pilot would never leave his laptop running if he planned on being gone for long, Duo reasoned Heero was close by and would return shortly. 

Without thinking, he moved his right arm to rub his gummed eyes, and instantly the stinging pain he'd felt back in the dorm room after waking up came back with a vengeance, reminding him pointedly of why he was in bed. "Great," he huffed. He noticed that he was still wearing the gi Wufei and Trowa had put on him despite his protests, and right now he dreaded the idea of taking the loose cotton garment off. He could feel that some of the material was pulling uncomfortably against his hip and thigh, most likely stuck to his skin. 'That's going to hurt like hell,' he told himself. 

He lay still and quiet, wondering where everyone was and where this place was located that he'd been moved to while he slept. The nausea that he was feeling and the bad taste in his mouth was evidence that he'd been heavily drugged. 

Searching his clouded memories, he recalled seeing glimpses of his ripped-up side, scraped raw from the tumble off the motorcycle onto dirt and grass, remembering how heinous his body looked. A painful shudder went up his spine just thinking about it. Only Shinigami knew how much he'd tried to avoid that crash, but Heero's body had lurched so quickly to the right side of the bike that he'd been surprised by it. He clearly remembered grappling with the dead weight of Heero's body to gain some purchase on it to keep him from falling. Trying to haul Heero back up to safety and his own weakness and wounds, caused him to lose temporary control of the powerful motorcycle. He'd veered sharply to the left, over corrected to the right, and somehow managed to make it to the soft shoulder of the road before the motorcycle folded under them. "Damn that hurt," he said to himself, knowing it could have been so much worse if he hadn't managed to drastically slow the speeding bike while he'd continued his efforts to shield Heero's slack body with his own.

Getting to the dorm room had taken all his remaining strength and energy. He was fairly certain that it was adrenaline alone that got the both of them there. He'd managed, despite his injuries, to get the bike off the ground and on its kick stand, then hauled Heero up onto the seat, placing his body before his own so he could keep a firm hold of him. Only then did he start the motorcycle again and proceeded at a more moderate speed towards the school. One block away from their dorm, he ditched the bike near the motorcycle shop they'd stolen it from, leaving it wiped clean from finger prints or traces of blood. 

He wasn't quite sure how he managed it, but he successfully hauled Heero the short distance to their dorm room, carrying him over his shoulder, and except for his limp, it was in the exact same manner as Heero had taken him out of the base they'd escaped from. He remembered having random thoughts flitting through his mind at the time, and one particularly humorous one was that, in the shadow of the night, he imagined himself looking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, limping heavily with a big lump over his shoulder. 

He'd successfully snuck into the dorm, past the rooms of unaware, sleeping students and into their own room where he put Heero on his bed, then had the presence of mind to call Wufei on Heero's cell phone and asked him to come as soon as possible to help them. With the assurance that the other pilot was on his way, he collapsed onto his bed and welcomed the darkness that had been closing in on his vision since the fall off the bike. From that point, on everything was pretty much a blur.

He looked at the made bed and computer again. Hero must be alright if he was out of bed and the room, he thought. Shit, Heero. How the hell was he supposed to befriend or attract Heero when he was such a physical mess? "Pathetic," he called himself and closed his eyes. He ached all over and was feeling hungry and thirsty, but he'd be damned if he was going to try and get out of the bed. He figured he'd just wait a bit and Heero was bound to return to his computer.

Not ten minutes passed before his prediction came true and Heero opened the door and entered the bedroom. His eyes instantly met Duo's and he nodded his head in greeting.

"Hey," Duo said, his voice low and thick. "Could you get me some water?"

Without a word spoken, Heero left the room and the door open, allowing Duo to trace his movements to the bathroom where came the sound of water running. He returned a moment later with a tall glass of water in his hand and approached the bed. "Can you sit up?" he asked.

Duo held out his left hand. "Give me a hand up, but slowly please." Heero put the glass of water down on the nearby desk and held out his left hand, obviously favoring his right wounded shoulder. It was a painful process but the task was efficiently accomplished. 

Heero sat on the edge of the bed and reached again for the glass and handed it to him. He remained where he was as he watched Duo drink the cool liquid down to the last drop. "More?"

"In a bit. I'm going to have to use the toilet soon but I don't want to rush having to move. A race to the john is definitely not on the cards at the moment."

"Do you need a pain pill?"

"Not yet."

Slowly, Duo eased himself back down to rest against his pillow. "Where are the others?"

"Gone. Missions."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "So it's just you and me?"

Heero nodded, and Duo noticed a strange, inscrutable look in his eyes. "I've been put in charge of your recovery."

"How's your shoulder?" Duo rushed to ask, letting his eyes look over the t-shirt covered shoulder, knowing it would be bandaged and probably smarting. He'd watched in a daze as Wufei dug the bullet out of the other pilot's shoulder blade, and just the thought of it now made his stomach clench and his body involuntarily shudder.

"It's at fifty percent," Heero replied, not telling Duo much.

"What about food?" 

"The others left plenty in the kitchen. Are you hungry?"

"Ravenous." A tired grin rose on Duo's face. It was easier to think about food than the pain burning all along his right side and the pulsing throb emanating from his left thigh. At the moment he couldn't tell which one was worse, so he'd concentrate on food instead of his discomfort.

Heero put his hand on his forehead, it's coolness a welcome touch. "You have a low-grade fever, which is to be expected. Some acetaminophen will take care of that." He removed his hand though his eyes never left Duo's face. "I'll fix you some supper and help you to the bathroom before you eat, then give you your medication."

"Thanks, man. I owe you." Duo yawned widely. Heero stared at him for a moment with the same unusual expression on his face he'd worn earlier, but it quickly turned to the nondescript one Duo was more familiar with. Standing, he pulled the blankets up to the wounded boy's shoulders and without further word, turned and left the room.

Duo sighed as the door was quietly shut. Maybe it was possible to make use of this situation after all, he thought. Perhaps he could get closer to Heero, since it was only the two of them in the safehouse. He could try to flirt, though he reminded himself that he really didn't know how to flirt with a guy as opposed to a girl. Was it the same or different? he wondered. With another large yawn threatening to split his face, he became acutely aware of how hungry he really was and his stomach backed up that thought as it growled loudly in complaint. He'd have to think about getting closer to Heero in a little bit, after he'd gotten some food inside of him and took the dreaded painful trip to the can.

Three days passed before Duo felt well enough to venture out of his bed on his own. His first destination was the shower. His only excursions from the bedroom since he first woke up in the new safehouse had been to the bathroom, with Heero's help, so he had to learn second hand from Wing's pilot of the specifications of the place they were temporarily housed in. Heero described it as a townhouse in the middle of a busy, mid-sized city. They shared a common-wall with the neighbors to their right, which meant they had to keep the sounds in the rooms downstairs quiet. With just the two of them in the house, they'd have no problems in that department. The rented place had three bedrooms, all upstairs, and one and a half bathrooms.

He wasn't sure how many days it had been since he'd washed his hair, but Duo could definitely feel the need for it and was looking forward to the luxury of a shower. Yet after one look in the mirror at his reflection, his intentions faltered at the sight of his wounds. He took a good look at his tattered but healing right side, then pulled out the waistband of his boxers to take a look at the more painful areas of his right hip and thigh. The first night in this safehouse Heero had to wet down and peel off the cotton gi where it had stuck to his skin. Though he was a mass of scabs, he could see patches of brighter red where the material had melded with the open and raw wounds and had torn away his skin's first attempt at trying to heal as Heero undressed him. "Well aren't you attractive?" He said to himself with a voice dripping with sarcasm as he righted his boxers.

"I think you look better than you did four days ago," Heero said. Unaware of the other boy's arrival, the unexpected sound of his voice startled Duo and caused his breath to catch in his throat. He watched through the mirror as Heero came to stand behind him and looked over his shoulder and into the mirror at his reflection. The braided boy could feel the heat radiating from Heero's body, sensing the other pilot was standing well within his personal space. He realized that this moment provided the opportunity he'd been looking for during the last two days. Now all he needed was the courage to do what his mission called for.

"How can you stand looking at me?" he asked Heero, his eyes fixed on the other boy's deep blue eyes reflecting back at him. "I'm downright hideous."

Duo flinched slightly but quickly steadied himself as Heero brought his right hand up and pushed back several strands of his loose and messy hair from his shoulder. It then moved upward to stroke Duo's cheek. "You look fine, Duo, especially when you consider what you've been through."

Surprisingly enough, Heero's touch was gentle and Duo paused to wonder if anyone had ever touched him with such tenderness before. He closed his eyes, trying to remember and such experience and was shocked to find himself leaning into the touch. 'What the hell?' he thought to himself. His eyes flew open to see Heero still studying him from the reflection of the mirror. He quickly looked away and could feel himself blushing.

"I need a shower, Heero, but I'm not sure if it's worth the pain. I'm gonna go nuts if I don't get my hair washed soon."

The Wing Gundam pilot looked to the tub/shower unit behind him, then back to the damaged body. "I've got an idea, if you'll let me help you," he said.

Duo waited a moment before nodding and swallowed hard. He tried to tell himself it was no big deal. He'd showered in the locker rooms with Heero in the schools they'd attended, after playing sports. They'd dressed and undressed countless times in the same room, but all of a sudden he felt unusually body shy, which he knew was absolutely ridiculous. Heero had been tending his wounds with only a towel strategically placed to provide him some modesty.

He watched the other pilot through the mirror, his hands gripping the edges of the sink to keep himself standing as Heero turned and bent over the bathtub to start the shower, adjusting the temperature of the water until it was at an acceptable setting. He adjusted the nozzle of the shower, pointing it down sharply so that the water's spray fell only on the front area of the tub. Then opening the back of the curtain, he turned around to his injured comrade. "We need to get your boxers off," Heero said without blinking an eye.

Since peeling off the gi that first night in the safehouse, Duo opted to wear only his boxers, especially when he got out of bed. He needed to preserve some sense of modesty but knew that air was needed to help his skin heal more quickly. So at the moment he was more than fully aware that there was less than a yard of material that separated him from being clothed and totally naked. He gave a weak smile to the boy in the mirror then carefully hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his cotton boxers. He managed to pull them out and down to the top of his thighs before he stopped, not able to bend any further.

"I'll finish it," Heero offered, and again, Duo's skin twitched as deft fingers lifted the elastic away from his skin and eased the material down and off his legs. "Can you step over the edge of the bathtub?" Heero asked, turning Duo to face it.

He nodded, blushing furiously, and held onto Heero's proffered left arm as he brought his wounded left leg up and eased it painfully over the edge of the tub, paused to steady himself, then brought his raw and scabbing right leg in. Once both feet were inside the bathing space, Heero told him to turn and put his hands up against the back of the shower wall while he got ready. Duo could only imagine what 'ready' meant.

He could hear Heero moving about behind him, then felt warm water gently falling over his shoulder and stream down his back. He looked over his shoulder to see the other boy filling up a tall drinking glass with water from the showerhead, then brought it up to pour it down his back again. He closed his eyes and tried to relax, but it was pretty damn hard. He couldn't keep his mind off of every move the boy behind him made. At first, Heero avoided his healing skin as much as possible, but after a while he insisted that it needed to be cleansed as well. 

With his body and long hair thoroughly wet, Heero reached for the shampoo and began to work up a lather on the heavy brown mass. The angle he was working at was extremely awkward and, finding it inefficient and his clothing getting wet, he changed tactics. Drying his hands on a nearby towel, he then quickly removed his clothing to stand just as nude as Duo was. He then climbed into the shower and resumed his work.

Duo, leaning heavily and half asleep against the shower wall with his eyes closed, was unaware of Heero's state of nakedness as he stood behind him, washing his hair. He moaned his pleasure at having his scalp thoroughly massaged. "God, that feels so good," he moaned. It was all too soon that he felt cup after cup of warm water being poured over his head in an effort to eliminate the soap from his mass of hair. He was so thoroughly relaxed by Heero's ministrations that he didn't react adversely to the soaped washcloth that was pressed against the healthy skin of his back, moved to his left shoulder and arm, then over his hip and down his legs. He tensed, however, as Heero slowly drew the cloth up his body once again, coming around to the front of his body and moved against his hip bone, stomach and chest.

"You're too thin," Heero said in a low voice.

"I'm just like every other half-starved kid that survived L-2," Duo replied in a tired voice. His mind focused on the cloth as it moved across his chest, rubbing against his nipples. Was Heero making a move on him? Or was he just being his usual thorough self? Whatever his motives, it felt incredibly good and Duo uttered a soft moan, then swallowed it, horrified at his reaction. Suddenly, the washcloth was removed and a bar of soap tapped against his right hand resting on the shower wall.

"Here," Heero said, his voice husky. "Wash yourself."

Knowing he was blushing because his face and ears were suddenly very hot, Duo took the bar to lather his hand and returned the soap to the other boy. He then washed his private areas, careful not to stimulate himself in any way so that his nether regions wouldn't react. "Okay," he whispered when he'd finished. He saw Heero's hand reach around his waist with the cup filled with water. He watched it tilt and felt the slow, warm tickle of water being poured against his flat stomach and slide over the soaped area below. 'It shouldn't feel this good,' he thought to himself. Heero repeated the rinsing two more times then began to gently wring out the long mass of hair by twisting it in his hands.

"Turn around so I can wash your face." The gentle command was breathed on Duo's bare shoulder, causing him to shudder and his body to get goose bumps. "Cold?"

Duo nodded, then slowly turned when Heero's hands gently prodded his shoulder to his right. The long haired man blinked in surprise at what was in front of him; Heero was as naked as he was. "Why are you in here?" he asked stupidly.

"Bathing you. My clothes were getting wet and this seemed more efficient."

Logic, Duo thought. Heero was just being logical, not making sexual advances.

"Close your eyes," the cobalt eyed boy ordered, and Duo complied, though somewhat reluctantly. Instead of a wash cloth being applied to his face and neck, wet and calloused hands touched his skin. Unbelievably gentle fingers pressed against every centimeter of his forehead, eyelids, nose, cheeks and chin, then down and up his neck, taking their time as if memorizing the smooth surface. Duo found himself in a trance-like state, his body swaying slightly to the tantalizing touches he'd never experienced before. The hint of Heero's breath brushing his lips was the only warning he had before lips, tentative in their touch, brushed against his mouth. Although it wasn't totally unexpected, his reaction to it was. He found himself canting his head to the right and shyly returning the kiss. In the back of his mind he noted that the kiss wasn't aggressive or demanding, as he would have expected from the Perfect Soldier, but quite the opposite. Heero's kiss was soft, questioning and tender. Duo had no idea as to how long their lip to lip contact lasted, but it suddenly came to an abrupt end when he opened his eyes and pulled back with a slight, mortified gasp.

Heero's eyes opened as well and studied his face, then slowly moved downward and a faint smile graced his lips. Duo followed the other boy's gaze and it fell on his own semi-erect state.

"Oh god," he moaned, embarrassed as hell. Then he noticed Heero was in a similarly affected state. Before he could catch himself, he backed up, hitting the cold shower wall behind him.

"What's wrong?" Heero asked, grabbing his right arm to steady him.

He was blowing it and he knew it. He just didn't know if he could do this, mission orders be damned. He was straight; wasn't he? He shouldn't be reacting like this from a simple kiss from another boy. It was then that his mission came back to him in the form of Dr. J's voice, speaking to him in perfect detail. "You are to gain his affections and attachment, and if he shows a sexual interest in you, you are to encourage and succumb to him. Bind him to you with your affections and with your friendship, give him something to live for. If he kills himself before the war is over, our chances for success are almost nil." He looked up to see Heero frowning at him, and if he didn't know better, he would think the other boy was... worried.

"I'm sorry, Heero," he said, his voice quiet but rushed. "I... I've just never done anything like this before." He hoped his explanation was close enough to the truth to be believable.

Heero's left eyebrow rose skeptically. "You've never kissed anyone before?"

Duo looked over Heero's shoulder at the showerhead and water spraying out wastefully from it while he avoided the other boy's eyes and wondered if he could evade his questions. Lying never did sit well with him, so he would have to be as truthful as he could without giving up his mission instructions. "I've never kissed a guy before, not to mention doing it while being naked and in a shower." He closed his eyes, embarrassed. "I'm surprised that I enjoyed it, especially since my body still aches all over."

Slowly, Heero's hand came up to brush his left cheek with the back of his fingers, causing the blue-violet eyes to open again. "I obviously enjoyed it too," he replied. He moved closer to continue where he'd left off moments before, but stopped as Duo's hand, planted firmly on his chest, kept him from advancing further.

"I'm in no shape for anything right now, Heero, and this is all new to me. Can we take things slow, discover how we really feel about each other?"

Heero's dark eyebrows drew together as he considered the request. "You want more than just a physical relationship." The words didn't come out as a question, but more as an unfamiliar concept being held up, analyzed and thoroughly dissected. Then unexpectedly, he nodded, coming to some type of a conclusion, and the dark blue eyes, glinting with an emotion Duo knew he hadn't seen there before, met his own. "That's acceptable. I think I want that too."

Giving him a shaky smile, Duo shivered again, this time it was from the cold. Heero saw it and moved them out of the bathtub, turned off the water, and carefully toweled off Duo and then himself.

The whole shower incident left the long haired boy feeling worn out. He sat on the edge of his bed with his eyes closed, a towel wrapped loosely over his hips with his damp hair slung over his bare left shoulder. In his limp hand, laying open on his lap, was his hairbrush, and he wondered how in the world he was going to find the strength to brush out the tangles.

A soft touch to his hand caused him to open his eyes to see Heero, dressed in sweat pants and a tee-shirt standing in front of him. "Need some help?"

Nodding, he gave the brush up into Heero's more than capable hands and waited as the other boy climbed up on the bed and situated himself behind him. Soon the long, slow and rhythmic brushing through his thick hair was both soothing and pleasant. "Besides myself, only one other person has ever brushed my hair," he said sleepily, the image of the older and sweet woman that had been Sister Helen came to his mind, accompanied by the sadness and longing he always experienced with the memory.

"Then I thank you for the privilege," Heero said sincerely, sensing whatever Duo was remembering was deeply personal. "I hope you'll tell me about that other person sometime, when you're feeling better." 

Duo reached back with his left hand, stopping the movement of the hand holding the brush so that he could turn and look the Japanese boy in the eyes. As a rule, the five pilots never spoke too much about their pasts, finding the present more than enough to deal with. "Do you really mean that, Heero? You really want to know about my past?"

Heero looked as if he were thinking if over for a moment, then nodded. "It would be an honor. And if you'd like, I'll tell you of my past also."

"Yeah, I'd like that," Duo said, dropping his hand so that Heero could continue with the brushing of his hair. He closed his eyes and lost himself in the wonderful sensation of someone brushing his hair. He sensed that he and Heero were beginning to build a bridge of trust with each other, one that went past just being comrades, and maybe, with that as a starting point, they could be real friends and confidants. It had been a long time since he felt he could trust someone enough to be open with them about his past, and strangely enough, he found himself looking forward to it, even though dredging up parts of his life up was always painful. It would be nice to share his burdens with someone as strong as Heero Yuy. 

A short time after that thought drifted through his mind, he dozed off, completely missing the tender act of Heero guiding his slack body down to the mattress to rest properly on his bed, then covering him up with the blankets and leaving him with a soft kiss on his cheek.

Continued soon.

B.D.'s note: Thanks to all who have left comments, reviews, and sent encouraging words to me. All are very much appreciated. I'm not one to ask for reviews, in fact, I dislike that practice, but I'm probably not the only one who wonders if people are still reading GW fics. Sometimes comments are the only way we know that what we're doing is appreciated. I know I've read some excellent stories lately and have been surprised to see the lack of reviews posted for such excellent work. So don't forget the review button on any story you appreciate, it's food for the aspiring writer's muse. BTW, a special thanks to Aphrael. You're the best! Good luck on your Valentine fic. ^_^


	7. Revelations

A Grudging Seduction

Bane's Desire

Part 7 - Revelations

Upon waking, Duo was immediately aware of a warmth along the left side of his body and that an arm rested on top of the blanket covering his stomach. He opened his eyes and turned his head to see a mop of dark brown hair in his line of vision, noting it was Heero lying next to him. He raised his right arm carefully, feeling the tight pull of the scabs on his healing flesh, and felt for his loose hair. His finger tips found it tossed over his left shoulder and secured tightly in Heero's hand. 'Hum, he really seems to like it,' he thought to himself, then snorted at the very idea that the Perfect Soldier could be attached to something he'd mentioned more than once as being frivolous. The slight sound that escaped him roused Heero from his nap.

"Hello," the shaggy haired teen said, instantly alert and blinking his eyes into focus and taking in the room as if to remind himself of where he was.

"How long did we sleep?" Duo asked, fighting a yawn.

Looking at his watch, Heero answered. "Two hours, fifty-three minutes. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, a bit. How about you?"

Heero rose up on his elbows to look down at the boy next to him. Like last time, the kiss came to Duo without any warning, for suddenly Heero's lips were on his own. 

'Think of it as kissing a girl,' the braided teen reminded himself, forcing his body to relax. Once he managed to ease some of the tension from his body, he began to think about and feel what the other boy's mouth was doing and that maybe the girls he'd kissed previously weren't all that experienced because damn, Heero was one fine kisser. His technique was perfect, Duo decided, as soft lips traced his own, seeking but not demanding, wanting but not completely taking. Now if this was a girl he was kissing, one that he really liked, Duo knew he'd probably put his arms around her and draw her closer. Keeping his eyes closed, he followed that mental picture and brought his good arm up and placed it on Heero's waist. Then after a moment, he let it trail upward, feeling the skin under the material of tank top ripple in reaction to his touch. He let his hand linger on the bare shoulder and caressed it as the kiss deepened. Heero's tongue pressed between his lips, requesting entry, and without thinking, Duo opened them to him. 

'Damn fine kisser,' his mind repeated as their tongues began to spar in each other's mouth. He found it unexpectedly pleasurable to be exchanging kisses with someone as aggressive and strong as Heero. He usually took the lead when he'd had physical contact with girls, but now he found he kind of liked sharing the control equally with Wing's pilot. Losing himself to the kiss, he moved his hand upward to comb his fingers through Heero's thick and unruly hair and instinctively pulled the strong and firm body closer to his own, groaning as the other boy's weight came to rest more fully on top of his own. And then the pain hit, bringing him instantly back to awareness of his injuries, temporarily forgotten. The moan that escaped his lips was no longer from pleasure. "Oh shit. Get off, quick," he gasped, and was immensely relieved at how rapidly Heero complied. 

"Sorry," the blue-eyed pilot said, and though his voice seemed unemotional, Duo heard just a hint of remorse in it. 

Duo shook his head as he tried to catch his breath. "Got carried away, I guess," he managed to say, trying to give the boy staring down at him with concern etched on his face a reassuring smile, but with the effort it took to lift the corners of his mouth, he was pretty certain he'd failed.

A few moments passed with neither boy speaking and while Duo composed himself, he also refocused. G had said that he needed to bind Heero to himself. He realized that he might have just blown it, stopping what had promised to be a fantastic make-out session. Find things in common with him, he told himself. Flatter him. Put him on the proverbial pedestal. Those were the things he would do with a girl that he really wanted to get to first or second base with; and it usually worked. But this was different, and he had to question himself as to whether or not the same tactics would work with Heero. He turned his head to look at the boy who had haunted his thoughts lately, only to find that Heero was studying him intently in return.

"Um.. You're a great kisser, Heero. I... I guess you've had a lot of practice."

The Japanese boy continued to peer in his eyes, and Duo found it a bit disconcerting. Then, at last, the dark haired boy nodded. His index finger rose to trace a feathery line down Duo's neck, starting just below his ear and slowly moving past the racing pulse in his neck to the hollow of his throat. With a deep, sultry voice, he replied. "I've been fully trained in many areas having to do with physical intimacy," he replied, straight faced.

Duo stared at him, his eyes widening with understanding, his mouth having fallen open. "You're shitting me. You were trained? By who? That freak with all the metal appendages? Did you have sex with Dr. J?" The American's voice had risen as he spoke and his face displayed not only his shock, but repugnance at the thought of the old man touching Heero's young body.

Heero, in turn, looked repulsed. "You have a very sick mind, Duo. Of course I didn't have sex with J."

The braided teen gave a dramatic sigh of relief. "Thanks for saving me from endless nightmares that image conjured up."

Heero reached over and smartly pinched the boy's uninjured arm, causing Duo to squawk. "That's your punishment for thinking nasty thoughts."

Duo blushed. "Sorry," he said contritely. "So how did you learn all that physical intimacy stuff?"

"In the last few months of my training, Dr. J decided I might need to use other means of infiltrating by seducing people working for and amongst the ranks of the enemy. He also deemed it prudent to prepare me in case sexual assault was used as a method for interrogation should I be apprehended. He hired a series of professional courtesans to instruct me in art of seduction."

Duo's eyes remained large at Heero's words. "Damn, Heero. You were what, fourteen years old? Don't you think that's kind of insane?"

"It was necessary," Heero countered. "As was all my training."

The braided teen was at an absolute loss for words. What could you say to that? "Um, ..." he began hesitantly. "Were they male or female... professionals?"

"Both."

"Young or old?"

"Mid twenties," Heero replied with a slight shrug. "Old enough to be experienced."

"Shit."

"Does this bother you?"

"Hell yes it bothers me," Duo gaped openly at the other boy who seemed much too calm about the whole conversation. "J had no right to do that to you."

Heero looked at him curiously, as if he didn't understand Duo's attitude. "It was training, Duo. They didn't hurt me. In fact, it became quite pleasurable once I understood it."

"'It' being sex."

"Yes." There was a moment's pause before Heero spoke again. "Have you, Duo?

"Had sex?"

"Yes."

"Um... I haven't gotten past second base with a girl," he answered, then realized he needed to clarify to Heero what that meant. "That means I got to feel her up. You know, touch her boobs."

"Breasts," Heero corrected.

Duo shrugged. "But I haven't done anything with a guy before, like I told you in the shower."

Several long moments of silence stretched out before Heero's finger tips began to trace lightly along Duo's clavicle, moving softly across the skin to the rounded shoulder where his fingers worked a series of circles around it. As upset as he was about Heero's training, Duo found pleasure at the touch and felt almost paralyzed, unable to move or speak while those magic fingers moved southward to his pectoral muscles and traced enticing circles there, brushing across his nipple. Despite all his efforts not to make a sound, he hissed slightly while taking a sharp breath of air into his lungs in reaction to it.

"I know what I'm doing, Duo." Heero's voice was deep and sultry, causing the other boy to involuntarily shiver with pleasure. "I can make your first time very, very pleasurable."

Duo wasn't even sure when Heero changed positions, but he knew the exact moment the other boy's tongue licked one of the puckered nubs on his chest. Despite his best attempts to be quiet, small sounds of pleasure passed his lips, and the slight sound brought him back to his senses and that he was losing control. He came abruptly out of his trance-like state and back to rational thought. "Wait, Heero. Stop. Please," he pleaded, pushing the other boy away from his body.

Damn, but his heart was racing again and the lower half of his body seemed to have a mind of its own lately. "I'm just not ready, Heero. All right?" He waited to say more until he got a reluctant nod from the boy above him. "Listen, I'm still hurting and fifteen years old, and while I know there's not specific age for it, I just kind of think I'm not ready for sex yet. When I do finally have sex with someone, I want it to really mean something, not just because it was something to do to pass the time. Do you understand?"

Heero looked more confused than ever. "You don't want me?" He asked with a frown forming on his face and Duo wondered if his feelings were hurt. "Is it because I've had sex with prostitutes? I can assure you safe sex was practiced and I've been tested and am clean of any sexually transmitted diseases."

"No!" Duo said, trying to reassure the other boy. "You're not listening to me, Heero. I'm the problem, not you." He decided he needed to try another tactic and then it suddenly dawned on him that this was the perfect opportunity to set up his reasons for not having sex with Heero but still binding him to him so he wouldn't self destruct.

"Listen, Heero." He began again with a serious attitude. "Sex is a binding thing to most people. Once you have intimate relations with someone you naturally become more emotionally attached to them, or so I've been told. I've lost a lot of people in my life, people that I cared deeply for. I don't want to lose anyone close to me again. If I were to ... um... have... intimate relations with you, it would be because I care deeply for you. I know myself, Heero, I'd probably become emotionally dependent on you and, if something should happen to you, if you should die, I might not be able to carry on, to function properly. I don't think either of us can promise we won't die, considering who we are and what we do, so what direction would the war go if our side was to lose the two of us?"

"There are no guarantees in life, Duo," Heero interjected, a frown marring his handsome features. "Anyone at anytime can die, and no doubt the battle for peace would carry on without us, maybe for a longer period of time, but it would go on."

"You're right," Duo agreed. "But personally, I don't want to set myself up for any more heartache. You've tried to self destruct several times already. If you hold your life so cheap, you'll never survive the war. Why would I want to become emotionally attached to you if you're going to hit the self-destruct button every time something goes wrong?"

Heero continued to frown, obviously not liking the way the conversation was going. His eyes seemed focused on something distant as he considered Duo's words. Then with a nod of his head, he refocused and replied simply, "I understand," then quickly moved himself off the bed and left the room. 

Duo's eyes followed him, not knowing if how the conversation ended was a good or a bad thing. He lay there in the heavy silence of the room going over the conversation they'd just had several times before coming to the conclusion that nothing had changed. Heero had not given him any indication that he was going to stop hitting that damn destruct button in Wing whenever he was cornered. With a weary sigh, Duo realized he had his work cut out for himself.

It wasn't until their evening meal was ready that Heero came back into the room to help the injured teen off his bed, down the stairs and to the kitchen. With a hand gripping his left elbow, the braided teen was led by the other boy to the small, square table with four chairs set on each side. The table was already set with two place settings for their forthcoming meal. A feeling of uneasiness hung between the two that was uncomfortable and continued as Heero dished up the meal from the stove top and brought the filled plates to the table. Duo smiled with gratitude to the chef of the hour for the chicken vegetable stir-fry that sat on a bed of rice.

After taking a bite and finding Heero's meal tasted as good as it looked, Duo ventured to break the silence between them. "This is great, Heero. Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

"Dr. J." 

Duo wasn't surprised by the answer. "Never learned to cook myself," he admitted with a shrug. "Not like this anyway. If we were lucky enough to catch a rat or even a rare cat when I lived on the streets, one of the older kids would skin it and then take out the innards. We always had to hunt around for some kind of improvised skewer, a wire or metal pole, and we took turns holding the carcass over a fire to cook it, that is if we were lucky enough to find something that burned. Otherwise, we stole food from markets and ate what we snatched while on the run so that if we got caught there wasn't any evidence, we'd have already eaten it. I really wouldn't call that cooking." he shrugged and put another fork full of food into his mouth and continued speaking, his mouth full. "But don't worry, Howard showed me how to cook the basics over a stove: eggs, grilled cheese sandwiches, maccaroni and cheese, you know, the good stuff." He swallowed and put another fork full of chicken and broccoli into his mouth, then looked up to see Heero's eyes staring steadfastly at him.

"What?" He wondered if he had something stuck between his teeth or dribbling off his chin to cause Heero to look at him in such an odd way. Heero's eyes lingered on his face for a moment, his expression unreadable, then he seemed to come to his senses and waved off Duo's question.

Duo sighed in frustration. "Jeez Heero, are ya gonna give me the silent treatment all night? Come on, man, help me out here a little bit. I'm just not up to carrying the whole conversation tonight."

He was about to give up, but Heero's penetrating eyes didn't look away from him, but they seemed to be looking for something... within Duo, maybe trying to understand him a bit more.

"Do you plan on surviving the war, Duo?" 

Heero's sudden question caught the normally quick-witted boy off guard. He looked from Heero's expressionless face down to his plate, which he studied for several long moments as he thought about his reply. Slowly, he raised his eyes up to look at his teammate. "I didn't really come into the war with a death wish, not for me that is," he replied with a skewed grin. Then getting more serious, he continued. "I don't think I want to die before I find out if life really is any better than what I know from the streets of the hell I grew up on. But if I have to die during battle, trying to bring peace to the colonies, then so be it."

"You've tried to self destruct also."

Duo raised an eyebrow, wondering how Heero had found out about that failed incident. Here again, he noticed that Heero wasn't asking if he had or not, but that he stated a fact. "How'd you know about that?" There was a bit of challenge to Duo's whole demeanor. He didn't know if he felt comfortable with someone knowing him as well as Heero seemed to.

"I have my ways." 

That was all there was to his answer, and Duo realized Heero was not going to elaborate. He could probably weasel it out of him, but tonight he just didn't feel up to it. The scabs that were forming on his thrashed skin were tight and itchy and his body and head were aching and throbbing. So instead of arguing, Duo sighed and returned to focus on his meal, determined to fill his empty stomach before going back upstairs to bed.

Silence passed for several minutes with only the sound of metal forks hitting the ceramic plates as the two finished their meal. "What if I told you that I feel the same? That I don't want to be emotionally attached to someone who believes they are expendable?"

Duo looked up at Heero with an expression of shock on his face. He knew how little value Heero held his own life, other than his being a soldier and trying to single-handedly win the war, but did Heero really believe that of him? He wondered what he'd said or done to have led the other pilot to come up with that interpretation, that he didn't believe his life had value, that he believed the war was the only thing he lived for? Damn, he thought, that was supposed to be Heero's line of reasoning. "Is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?" he asked, a grin starting to form.

Heero, for his part, continued to stare at him soberly, waiting for an answer to his questions. Another crossroads, Duo thought wearily. He hoped that Heero was beginning to question the validity of his past belief, that one man's life is cheap when spent in a just cause for the betterment of mankind. Duo's thoughts had, at one time, run along a similar line of thinking, believing that an orphaned thief from L-2 would not be missed in the grand scheme of things if he should die. But his feelings about that had changed slightly over time, as did his life. Now, as the pilot of Deathscythe, he knew his death or capture would cause him to be sorely missed by his fellow pilots and have an effect on the war effort. As long as Deathscythe existed and the colonies were oppressed, he had a job to do and there was a definite purpose for his life. He was determined that he alone would pilot the black gundam, harbinger of death, destruction, and eventually, hopefully, peace and hope to the people of the colonies. As for the future? Well, he didn't have a death wish, but it was to gray and blurry for him to spend too much time thinking about it. He figured it was better to worry about today and let tomorrow take care of itself.

"My life isn't cheap anymore, Heero." Duo finally answered the other boy's question while looking up into the dark blue eyes patiently waiting. "I'm the pilot of Deathscythe, and at the moment, that's what matters the most. I think the only reason I'd ever try to self-destruct again would be if my gundam was in risk of falling into the enemy's hands. But I would make damn well sure that I was all out of options before I hit that button."

Heero nodded, he understood Duo's line of thinking all too well. "I feel the same," he said quietly.

The conversation ended with the meal, and Heero cautiously followed behind his wounded companion as he made his slow and careful way back up the stairs to the bedroom and his bed.

Continuing...

Sorry this took longer than usual to get out. It's been an incredibly busy week and I worked on two other fics that will be posted soon. Thanks to all who have reviewed or commented. I'd mention you each individually, but I'm beat tonight and would probably leave someone out and hurt their feelings, so I'll just thank every one of you sincerely for your comments. B.D.


	8. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Disclaimers and warnings on first page of this story.

A Grudging Seduction

Bane's Desire

Part 8 One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

The next two days passed with relative ease. Both teens returned to their previous relationship with each other, though now it was a bit more friendly and comfortable. Their routine continued, including Heero changing Duo's bandages and putting Wufei's ointment on the healing skin twice a day. The braided boy couldn't help but notice how Heero's hands lingered on his skin, how his touch was gentle and that he was apologetic for even the smallest amount of pain or discomfort his doctoring caused. He found it a natural reaction for his body to tense when Heero's fingers first touched his skin as they began their chore, but the practiced and knowing hands always eased him into a state of relaxation until the other boy's touch became welcomed and even comforting.

It was in the evening on the sixth night of their stay in the safehouse that Duo found out just what Heero's intentions towards him were. Thinking he had convinced the other boy to put aside any notion of a physical relationship, Duo was startled to look up from the sink where he'd just spit out his toothpaste, to see in the mirror's reflection that Heero was standing silently behind him. The other boy's deep blue eyes were blazing with a strange intensity as they met his own in the reflected glass. He found himself at a loss for words as Heero stepped closer and reached a hand up to push aside a thick strand of hair, still damp from his recent shower, from off his neck and bent his head to gently nuzzle his bare shoulder. The teasing lips proceeded to move slowly up his pale, slender neck, causing him to hold his breath.

Closing his eyes, Duo thought about how good the sensation of Heero's mouth on his bare skin felt. He could feel the soft lips press small, almost ghosting kisses against his damp flesh, and the warm tongue that came out of Heero's mouth pressed suggestively against his rapidly beating pulse. Finding himself tilting his head to give Heero even more access, the long haired boy mentally caught himself as his body began to respond.

"Wait, Heero. We talked about this," he managed to say in a low and slightly strangled voice.

"What if I gave you my word, an oath?" Heero said, his lips moving upward towards Duo's jaw.

Feeling slightly dazed with the sensations Heero was causing within his head and body, Duo replied rather torpidly, "An oath? About what?"

"What if I promise not to self destruct anymore? What if I said I wanted to live? Could I then be someone you would want to become emotionally attached to?"

Duo's mind registered the fact that this was it, the moment when he could "bind" Heero to himself like Dr. J ordered, by having Heero's pledge. His mission would be accomplished just by the acceptance of his oath. But what of the payoff? Heero was stating a willingness to change his belief in the value of his own worth in order to get him into his bed. Shit! "Heero, I..."

Whatever he was going to say was cut off when the distant sound of the front door opening and then quickly closing came to their ears, causing Heero to step back, his eyes shooting towards the open bathroom door and his hand moving towards the gun sticking out of the waistband of his jeans.

"Anyone here?" Wufei's voice called out, allowing the two to relax slightly after they recognized who it was that had entered the safehouse.

"Upstairs," Heero answered and gave Duo a slightly apologetic glance before leaving the room. The long-haired boy let out the breath he'd been holding and slumped forward to grab hold of the sink, flooded with relief. Saved by the bell, so to speak, he told himself. But he knew Heero wouldn't let this go. He clasped the sides of the porcelain sink tightly and shook his head in disbelief. He was supposed to be the one seducing Heero, the one calling the shots, but the other pilot was now the one making the advances. How the hell did he get himself into these situations?

Limping heavily from the bathroom, the braided teen made his way back to his bed and, still aware of his aching wounds, slipped off his towel and gingerly put on his boxers and a loose t-shirt to ward off some of the chill in the room. He sat on the edge of his bed and began to separate and braid his already brushed hair. While doing to, he studied with disgust the dark brown healing scabs on the exposed skin of his right leg and arm, knowing from looking in the mirror moments before, that his face and right side looked just as bad. How could Heero be putting the moves on him when he looked so... mangy? 

"How are you feeling?" Duo jumped at the unexpected sound of Wufei's voice and looked up to see the Chinese pilot standing in the doorway of his bedroom looking battered and worn out.

"Better," Duo replied, motioning the other boy into the room, then slipped the elastic band off his wrist and wrapped it around the end of his braid and flipped the rope of hair over his shoulder. "How about you?"

"Tired," Wufei stated the obvious as he limped into the room with a definite exhausted slump to his shoulders.

"Wanna talk about your mission?"

"No, not really."

Sitting on the bed's edge, next to the long haired boy, Wufei looked aside at him. "You and Yuy getting along all right?"

Duo looked questioningly at the other pilot, wondering what brought that question up. "Yeah, he's been a regular Nurse Nancy."

Wufei gave him a half smile and Duo chuckled.

The Chinese pilot never could figure out the American's humor half the time, so he let it go in order to observe the other boy. "You're healing well," he stated after his visual appraisal of his condition was completed.

Duo snorted. "Yeah, just call me Scab Boy."

"I think Scab suits you just fine." Wufei offered a tired smile. "You always shorten everyone's name, so your new one should be shortened also," he explained. "Scab," he teasingly taunted.

"Woof," Duo barked like a dog with a grin on his face. He promptly found his braid pulled. "Hey!" he complained and reached back with his undamaged arm to snatch the poor excuse for a ponytail the Chinese boy always wore. His attempt was thwarted when Wufei anticipated the move and leapt to his feet, placing himself out of touching range.

"I'm off to bed," Wufei said with a chuckle, then turned towards the door only to see Heero standing there with a deep frown on his face. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"I made you a sandwich. It's on the kitchen table," Heero informed him, and stepped into the room so that Wufei could easily pass through the door.

"Thank you," the Shenlong pilot answered, a bit wary of the change in Heero's disposition from when he'd greeted him at the foot of the stairs moments before. He gave a questioning glance back to Duo, catching the other boy's eye. Duo gave him a slight shrug, obviously not knowing what was going on either.

"Night Woof-fei," Duo called out after him, and Chinese boy was able to catch sight of the L-2 teen's teasing smile a brief moment before the door was abruptly shut in his face. With a huff of exasperation, he turned and went towards the stairs, hoping Heero made something other than the Wing pilot's favorite sandwich consisting of a large stack of sardines, topped with mustard and placed between two pieces of bread. Even the thought of it had him swallowing with distaste.

Duo waited until he heard Wufei's footsteps start down the stairs before he spoke. "Uh, what was that about?" he asked, regarding the odd exchange, shifting nervously on the bed as Heero moved away from the closed bedroom door and began to approach him with a strange, intense look on his face. The braided boy's defensive reflexes kicked in and he awkwardly scooted back towards the headboard.

"Do you like him?" Heero asked, his dark eyes boring into the other boy's.

"Who, Wu?" Duo asked, then smiled at how silly his question sounded. It faded quickly however as Heero continued forward, crawling up on the bed like a large predator cat hunting its next meal and pressing forward until his close proximity forced Duo to lie down on his back while he hovered over him. The Wing pilot quickly straddled Duo's hips, careful not to touch his wounded side, and sat poised menacingly over him.

"Do you like Wufei?" Heero asked again, his body tense and his dark eyes never wavering from Duo's face.

The braided boy looked nervously up at Heero. "He's a nice enough guy, a good backup on a mission," he answered, hoping that was what Heero wanted to hear. Then it came to him that Heero was jealous and he rushed to make his feelings clear. "I like him as a friend, all right? But not the way I like you, Heero. Honest."

The darker haired boy suddenly lunged forward and captured Duo's lips, brutally kissing him and forcing his lips open. The whole act gave Duo the feeling that Heero was placing a claim on his mouth as his property. Fortunately, the contact was short and to the point and Heero pulled back quickly, only to search Duo's frowning face.

"Shit, Heero, that hurt!" Duo spat, reaching up and using the back of his hand to wipe the excess saliva from his bruised lips. "Don't bother kissing me anymore if that's the way you like it."

Heero took Duo's chin and forcefully turned it until the two of them were looking into each other's eyes. "I don't want you kissing anyone but me," Heero said in a firm, no nonsense tone of voice.

Red flags went up in Duo's mind as another realization came to him; Heero was not only jealous, but possessive. It shouldn't have come as such a surprise, he thought to himself, after all, he'd seen how possessive Heero was about his gundam and laptop. If Heero considered him his own, he would no doubt be put into the same category, being protected at all costs. Considering who he was dealing with, the game he was playing was getting more dangerous by the minute. He needed to set some guidelines, and fast. "Listen Heero," he began, forcing himself to calm down and speak rationally. "You know this is all new to me. I told you I've never been in any kind of relationship with a guy before and I'm certainly not going to go around jumping our friends. You need to understand that I'm not yours, not until I decide I can be, all right? Being jealous and attacking me or the others is just wrong. There'll never be anything between us if that's the way you're going to act."

"I don't want you to want anyone else," Heero said, looking angry and yet somewhat vulnerable.

Duo puffed out a deep breath of air and the hair over his forehead rose upward for a moment before resettling into place. "There's something you've got to understand, Heero," he began, calling on all his patience to explain himself. "I'm a social kind of guy. I like other people whether they're male or female, young or old. I like to talk to them, laugh with them, joke around with them, but that doesn't mean I like you any less. The other guys are my friends. I want to be their friend. Hell, with my background, I need all the friends I can get."

"Is that all I am to you?" Heero spoke up abruptly, his face frowning still. "Am I just another one of your friends?"

Duo mentally cursed himself, he was somehow messing this up. He knew what Heero wanted, what he was looking for from him and what his orders were. Dammit, girls were so good at this, baiting guys and then effectively holding them off from going too far. From his observations, such tactics seemed effortless for them. Why was this so hard for him? 

And then it hit him. 

Of course, he already had all the information he needed on how it was done, he'd observed it acted out hundreds of times by girls in the schools they'd attended. Hell, he'd had it practiced on him more times than he could remember. He recalled that the mating dance always started with flirty little come ons by the more aggressive girls he remembered, with innocent but constant touching being part of the ritual, and an intense interest in the males' activities. When the girls who practiced this art had the guy interested in them, their actions were then followed by a coy retreat. If the targeted male's interest began to wane, the girl would draw him in again using her feminine wiles and unspoken, enticing promises. He could do that... if he could just follow the steps he'd observed from the teenage girls he'd had such encounters with. Step one, he decided, was to flirt with a physical suggestion of something more to come.

"Heero," he lowered his voice to a soft whisper and brought his hand up to caress the other boy's cheek. It was surprisingly soft and flawless under his fingers. "I like you. More than any other guy. I can promise you, without any reservations, that I will never, ever kiss any guy other than you." Duo smiled at his sudden inspiration. Of course he'd never kiss another guy. Being straight, he had no desire to.

"Do I have your word?"

Duo blinked, seeing from the stern face and lips pressed tightly together that Heero was deadly serious. The dark blue eyes belonging to the Japanese boy searched his face for any signs of deception. And so it was without guile that he replied honestly. "I promise that I will never kiss another guy, Heero. And you know I never lie."

The muscles of Heero's face began to relax. Well hell's bells, Duo thought as he let out the breath he was holding and gave the other boy a relieved smile, another mini mission accomplished. Heero had accepted his word.

The corner's of Heero's mouth turned up slightly. "In return, I'll try to not be jealous of the other people in your life," the Japanese boy conceded, his voice soft. He then lowered his head towards Duo's.

Instead of receiving what he expected to be a kiss from the boy above him, Duo was surprised when Heero merely touched his forehead to his own and paused there for the longest time, allowing them to share a different kind of intimacy with their eyes closed and breathing in each other's breath. 

When at last Heero pulled up, Duo opened his eyes and was gifted with a rare, sweet smile from Heero that he was sure no one but himself had ever been the recipient of. He found his hand moving of its own volition to let his fingers trace that enigmatic upturn of Heero's lips, memorizing by sight and touch the wonder of that smile.

"Do you need anything?" Heero asked, looking a bit reluctant to break the contact even as he moved from off of Duo and then the bed. He stood by it for a moment, leaving the braided teen looking and feeling confusingly bereft at the loss of his close presence..

The Deathscythe pilot belied that odd feeling with a shake of his head. "Nah, I'm good," he replied, dismissing any need, then settled into a more comfortable position on top of his bed while keeping his eyes on the other boy. 

His answer seemed to satisfy the Wing Gundam pilot as he watched Heero turn and exit the room without further word, leaving Duo to stare at his hand, wondering at the tender touch he'd given Heero and the odd feelings it had provoked within him. 

When the recovering teen woke the next morning, it was to the sound of someone entering his room. He was surprised to see it was Wufei who came in bearing a tray of food. "Where's Heero?" Duo asked as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, eyeing the tray's contents to see that it bore a bowl of rice, a plate of scrambled eggs, and a tall glass of orange juice.

"Mission," Wufei answered.

Duo frowned as the tray was set on his lap. "He didn't say anything to me last night about it. Isn't it too soon?"

Wufei shrugged. "He seemed well enough. Besides, you know Heero. He doesn't like to turn down a mission." He then moved to the end of the bed and took a seat on the edge of it and waited patiently as he watched the other boy eat his breakfast rather enthusiastically. The Chinese boy seemed to time his next question for the moment after Duo had chewed and swallowed the last of his eggs. "What's going on between you and Yuy?" he asked abruptly.

Duo's hand paused as it came to rest on the glass of orange juice. "What do you mean?" he asked in return, his eyes not rising to meet Wufei's.

"If I'm correct, the tension between us last night was jealousy. Why is he jealous of you and I speaking together?"

Duo's heart was beating rapidly and he willed his body to remain relaxed, not wanting Wufei to know how much his question unsettled him. He had hoped to keep his mission and his more personal interactions with Heero from the other pilots. It was humiliating enough for him to have to come on to a guy without other people knowing about it. He didn't know if he could do what needed to be done if the other pilots were watching and believing he wanted this physical relationship he was being ordered to initiate. Besides, he couldn't imagine what would happen if Heero learned about his deception, and anyone else knowing about his orders increased the odds that the astute Japanese man would do just that. He had to think fast and evade the true answer without lying. 

Looking up though the long hair hanging over his forehead, he smiled at the Chinese teen. "Seems Heero hasn't had many friends before and now he sees me as being his only one. He doesn't understand that a person can have more than one friend at a time. He's learning though, so don't take it personally."

He resisted the urge to nervously shift under the dark eyes that studied him so closely. Wufei was obviously appraising the situation and dissecting his words to see if they matched the reactions of Wing's pilot the night before. "You're... friends?" Wufei asked at last, one eyebrow raised in a skeptical manner.

"Yeah," Duo replied, putting more confidence in his answer. "We're friends."

Wufei continued to stare at him and the unsettling silence between them stretched out uncomfortably. Duo found himself glad for the large bowl of rice and orange juice so that he had something to distract him from that penetrating gaze focused on him.

"If you need anyone to talk to, Duo, I can be a discrete listener."

Duo chuckled, and from the look on Wufei's face he could see his humor at the situation surprised him. "I always need to talk, Wufei. Do you have any idea what you just committed yourself to? I'm bored to tears here and have been dying for someone to talk to. That's not one of Heero's strong points, you know. Where should we start? The war, television shows, movies. I know," he gave the other a saucy grin. "Let's talk about hair and why you wear yours pulled back so tight. I think the only reason your eyes are slanted is because your face is too tightly pinched back with your hair forced into that restricting ponytail of yours."

"I can see I may have misspoken," Wufei said with the barest hint of a smile.

Duo laughed. "No taking it back now," he warned, laughing still as the Shenlong pilot's eyes rolled heavenward.

Continued soon.


	9. Facing Darkness

A Grudging Seduction

By: Bane's Desire

Part 9: Facing Darkness

Wufei and Duo spent a pleasant, relaxing morning together. They talked, enjoyed each other's company and even played a competitive game of poker on top of the blankets of the injured boy's bed. Wufei suggested some deep muscle stretches and isometric exercises for the leg injured by the bullet and knife wound, then worked with the American for a good hour on loosening up the tight muscles. As morning turned into midday, the Chinese teenager made lunch for the both of them, and because the day proved to be sunny and warm after the morning fog burned off, the two decided to relocate themselves outside on the apartment's small balcony. After eating their lunch, Duo stretched out on a blanket in the sun, basking in its glorious warmth.

Wufei, being the practical person that he was, wouldn't let his fellow comrade stay out long, warning Duo that his pale colony skin would burn quickly under the sun's unfiltered rays and then he'd have more aches and pains to complain about. The braided teen grudgingly complied, but was easily placated with the promise of Wufei renting a video.

The next three days fell into a pattern of three meals a day, each followed with time spent on exercising Duo's leg muscles and then some quiet activity to pass the remaining hours between meals. 

Heero entered the apartment midway through the afternoon on the third day. He shut the front door behind him with only the barest amount of noise as a warning to the other two in residence that he'd returned. He then moved towards the kitchen where he could hear their familiar voices and entered the sunny room to see the other Duo and Wufei sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table playing a game of cards.

"How'd it go, Heero?" Duo greeted the new arrival cheerfully while placing down his next card on the table. The question went unanswered for a long moment, causing Duo and Wufei to react in unison by turning their attention to the silent boy leaning heavily against the frame of the kitchen door. Both seated boys grew concerned at seeing a uncharacteristic dullness residing in the deep blue eyes. In stead of his emotionless mask, Heero looked lost and the shifting of his eyes displayed a barely controlled panic lurking within those dark depths that put both of the other teens instantly on guard.

"What is it, Heero? What happened?" Duo asked cautiously, becoming more concerned with each passing moment. He could see the Japanese boy was fighting to shield his emotions, to keep a stiff upper lip; but it wasn't working. It seemed as if Heero was at the verge of crumbling apart right before their eyes. His whole appearance, the way he held his body and his facial expression, told the Deathscythe pilot that something had definitely gone wrong during his mission.

Leaning heavily on the table and his chair, Duo rose to his feet and, favoring his left leg, he limped his way towards the silent but obviously distraught boy. "Heero, man, talk to me, buddy. What's happened? Did something go wrong?"

Despite the straight line of Heero's lips and the tight facial expression, Duo could see within the blue orbs watching his approach that a silent agony was being dealt with. He had to wonder if Heero's eyes had always been that expressive, that maybe he'd just never taken the time to see it before. His heart went out to the other boy, knowing from first hand experience how hard it was to hold back tears and grief, pain or rage when there was a job to do or the need to maintain a mask of indifference when you felt ripped up inside.

Reaching his hand out, he touched Heero's upper arm, a small gesture meant to offer him support or some form of comfort. Duo was witness then to Heero's eyes being glossed over by a sheen of unshed tears. "The mission?" he asked.

"Completed," Heero replied, then turned away from the braided teen to head for the stairs. He climbed them three at a time and his running footfalls in the upstairs hallway were easily followed by the two still in the kitchen as he went to their shared room.

Concerned, Duo turned to Wufei to get his take on things. Dark eyes met his own. "Go to him," the Chinese boy said in a firm voice. "He needs you right now. I'll start dinner."

Feeling a little self conscious at Wufei's words, hinting that he knew of his recent change of status with Heero, Duo turned to follow Wing's pilot and limped up the stairs and down the hall to their room. He entered without knocking and closed the door behind him. His eyes went to the other boy's bed to see Heero sitting at the top end of it with his knees drawn up to his chest, his arms tightly wrapped around them and his forehead resting against knees.

He knew Heero was aware of his presence, hell, he was walking like a one-legged elephant, but the boy on the bed didn't respond. "Hey, Heero," he called out in a gentle voice. He limped over to the bedside and reached his hand out to touch the top of the Heero's bowed head. Through his fingers he could feel the heat and damp scalp of the Japanese boy as he threaded them through the thick, coarse hair. Slowly, Heero's head rose until their eyes locked. There were still no trace of tears falling from them, but the inner anguish he'd seen downstairs hadn't diminished.

"What happened, Heero?" Duo asked, carefully sitting on the edge of the bed facing the other boy, mindful of his own wounded legs.

A pained looked flared on Heero's face, his dark eyebrows pinched together as anger rose to the surface. "My mission was to destroy a munitions depot," Heero began in a low and strained voice. "I knew it wouldn't take much to destroy it, a simple shot from my beam cannon into the center of it and the whole thing would blow." 

Duo watched as Heero swallowed hard, knowing they were getting to the crux of the problem. "They must have anticipated the importance of the site and that we'd target it. Their line of defense against us was to surround the main building with civilians." He closed his eyes, still seeing the hundreds of innocents in his mind. "I could see them in my scope," he continued in a tight voice. "Frightened men, women and children were lined up against the building's outer walls. At my approach, I saw them cower in fear at the sight of Wing. Some of them knelt to pray and several panicked and ran in an attempt to escape only to be shot down by the soldiers set to guard them and keep them in place." Heero's voice took on a never before heard anguish. "I had to make a choice. I had to either carry out my mission or back off, knowing that in doing so I would be showing a weakness to OZ that they would employ at every tactical target." The dark eyes looked pleadingly up at Duo. "I really had no choice, Duo. I couldn't show them a weakness they could exploit."

Duo's heart suddenly felt like lead in his chest as he asked the question Heero was waiting for. "And your mission was successful, right?" He'd already asked the question downstairs and knew from Heero's earlier statement that the mission had indeed been just that. 

Heero nodded, sinking his head back down on his knees, his arms tightening even more around his legs.

Staring at the top of the mop of dark brown hair, Duo wondered what he would have done if he found himself in the same position Heero had been in. A shudder of revulsion went through him as past memories came to mind. "This isn't anything new, Heero. They tried this before with the colonies when you self destructed." His eyes fixed on a splash of golden light that came through the bedroom window to fall upon the off-white wall, and his voice when he spoke had a distant tone to it as he continued, remembering the past all too well. "The Alliance and L-2's rebels also used this tactic on the people of L-2 quite often. The orphanage I lived in was destroyed because the rebels used me to get a hold of an armored suit. They held a priest, a nun and a bunch of little kids as hostages." His voice lowered with remorse and deep bitterness as he added, "The Alliance killed them all in retribution, not caring if they were innocent or not."

Heero's head rose again and his eyes fixed themselves on the braided boy whose face was dark with the painful memory. Duo slowly came out of the memories of his past to realize Heero was staring at him and, for a moment, they each felt a connection, a shared sense of grief, of helplessness, of anger and inner rage at the inability to change the way things were. Raising his arms and lowering his legs, Heero reached for Duo and latched onto his shoulders with firm, desperate hands and pulled the other boy forward to rest against his chest. He then wrapped his arms around him and held on tightly.

Ignoring the nagging pain in his legs and side, Duo gave himself up to Heero's embrace, sensing the other pilot's needed of the physical contact, maybe as much as he'd needed it after that haunting memory of L-2 had resurfaced. He brought his own arms up and held Wing's pilot just as tightly. "It's okay, Heero. Somehow you get past it and survive. Just remember, this is why we fight our enemy. We can't give up until we win, until there are no more innocents being sacrificed for political gain."

Heero agreed with a nod of his head, yet his hold on Duo remained constant, his head buried into the crook of the other boy's neck. After a time, and when Duo's soft complaints of discomfort finally reached his ears, he eased the both of them down to lie stretched out on the mattress while his hold on the other boy's body remained. They lay together with their limbs entwined, both experiencing an unexpected sense of security and comfort from the close, intimate contact.

Duo lay contentedly on his side within the shelter of Heero's arms, listening to the other boy's breathing slow as he fell into an exhausted sleep. His hand continued to caress Heero's back in a comforting manner as his thoughts returned to his friend's earlier distress. Never before had he seen this side of Heero, the boy he'd always deemed lacking normal human emotions. He contemplated the turn of events that led him to be privy of the fact that Heero could be jealous, possessive, desirous of a relationship, and now he'd learned that he also felt remorse and sorrow. He decided there was certainly more to the L-1 pilot than being the consummate soldier, and Duo had to admit to himself that he liked what he was seeing. He couldn't help but mull over the realization that Heero really wasn't any different than himself or the other pilots. He evidently needed comfort, companionship and acceptance, like any other teenager. A lazy smile grew on his face at that thought, then enjoying the warmth of the body pressed against his own and the sense of security the arms wrapped around him promised, he relaxed. Closing his eyes, he was unaware that his breathing pattern had come to match the same pattern as Heero's as he, too, fell asleep. Neither slumbering boy registered the silent opening of the door to their room, nor the shutting of it several long moments later.

Duo carefully disentangled himself from Heero's limbs and rose stiff and sore a little over an hour later and hobbled as quietly as possible from the bedroom to join Wufei in the living room.

"There's some food in the refrigerator for you and Yuy," the other pilot said from his position on the couch without bothering to look up from the book he was reading.

Duo went to the kitchen, yawning the whole way, and opened the refrigerator door to peer inside. Seeing two foil-covered bowls, he removed the top one and lifted the covering to see some kind of stir-fry dish with shrimp and vegetables that was set on a bed of rice. He hobbled over to the other counter and put it in the microwave to heat it up. As he watched the numbers count down to zero, his thoughts lingered on Heero, still heavily asleep upstairs, and knew that the other pilot probably wouldn't be up for several hours if not until the morning. He worried about Heero's mental state, never having seen him that emotionally upset before. It was the second time Wing's pilot been put in a position to make that kind of a decision, a choice between innocents and the war. But this time it had been the civilians who were sacrificed for the cause, not himself.

Taking the heated bowl and grabbing a fork and a cup of milk, he went out of the kitchen and into the front room with the intent of watching some television while he ate his meal. Setting the plate and cup down on the rather beaten-up coffee table, he snatched up the remote and turned on the T.V., purposely avoiding the news channels.

"How is he?" Wufei asked, nose still buried in his book.

"He'll be fine," Duo replied in a subdued voice. "They lined the target with a civilian shield."

Wufei's head jerked up and a look of intense anger filled his dark eyes. "There is no honor in that type of defense," he snarled.

"Tell me about it," Duo said with a weary sigh. "But you better be mentally prepared to handle a situation like that yourself. OZ doesn't seem to want to follow the right and proper steps to this dance anymore." 

Wufei frowned, the American sometimes used the strangest analogies to describe the enemy's atrocious behavior. War as a dance, he mentally huffed. But then as he thought about it, it made sense. There were rules to war, and OZ was proving to be an unpredictable, ruthless enemy who seemed to be making up the rules as they went along. He recalled clearly when Lady Une had turned the Alliance's space weapons on the colonies and threatened to blow them up, an act that would have killed thousands of innocent civilians just to get her hands on the gundams and their pilots. Heero had called her trump card that day by self destructing. That was a moment in time and an example of personal sacrifice on Heero's part that none of them would soon forget.

"He killed them, didn't he?"

Duo sighed deeply. "He had no choice. The target had to be destroyed and if he didn't, they'd pull the same tactic over and over again. We might as well give up our gundams and throw in the towel if we decided a few innocents couldn't be sacrificed for the greater cause."

Wufei thought it over for a minute and could see the logic of Heero's actions. "Would you have done it?" he asked, looking pointedly at the long haired American.

After taking a moment to think about his answer, Duo nodded his head. "With regret, a year's worth of nightmares and a lifetime of penance, you bet I would have done it."

The Chinese teen observed his comrade with a critical eye and came to an opinion about the character of the often unorthodox boy from L-2. "You're good for him," he concluded out loud. 

Duo jerked his head around, his eyes wide with surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Yuy. You're good for him. I sense he's vulnerable right now, so be careful you don't hurt him," Wufei answered with a definite look of warning in his eyes before he turned back to his book, appearing to give it his full attention.

Duo's mouth open and shut several times, thinking of a quick retort, then swallowing it, realizing that whatever he said would damn him either way as far as Heero was concerned. If Heero learned he'd denied their budding relationship, it would ruin his chances of completing his mission and undermine their new friendship. If he acknowledged something was going on, the other pilots, his friends, would observe him in his devious scheme to attach Heero to himself in an emotional and physical way to keep Wing's pilot from self destructing. No doubt they would later hate him for his duplicity, so he opted to say nothing; his mission regarding Heero was a private one and it was better kept that way. 

He observed the black haired youth for a minute. Wufei's statement seemed to express that he wouldn't have a problem with he and Heero being 'involved'. He filed that information away, feeling it wasn't going to be a problem anyway. He planned on being Heero's friend, not his lover, if he could help it. So he might end up being a friend with some side benefits, but he had already decided that he wouldn't fake falling in love with Heero when he wasn't. It would be lying, and he had his own moral code where that sin was concerned. He liked Heero, and even more so after seeing his more human side. But guys didn't fall in love with other guys, right?

Satisfied with his own reasoning, he turned back to the television and ate his dinner in relative silence.

He retired for the night in the early hours of the morning. The brief nap he'd taken that afternoon and his inactivity due to his injuries had satisfied any desire for sleep until then. Tiptoeing into the dark bedroom, not wanting to disturb the other boy's much needed sleep, Duo first took off his socks and then undressed, preparing to sleep in his boxers and t-shirt.

"Duo?" Heero's voice unexpectedly called out to him through the darkness, causing the Deathscythe pilot to pause. 

"Sorry if I woke you," he answered back in a whisper, then moved forward to find the top of his bed and began to pull down the covers in preparation for climbing in.

"Why did you leave?"

"I wasn't tired, Heero, and besides, Wufei made dinner." He paused before climbing between the sheets. "Are you hungry? Do you want me to heat something up for you?"

"No, but I wonder, could you sleep with me?"

Even though he couldn't see his own hand in front of his face, Duo turned towards Heero, grateful that the other pilot couldn't see the incredulous look on his face. "Why?" he asked nervously.

When Heero answered, his voice sounded strangely small and unsure. "I keep seeing them. All of those frightened people looking at me in horror. When you held me earlier, it felt... better." A few strained, silent moments passed before Heero spoke again in a quiet, pleading whisper filled with need. "Please?"

The braided teen thought about it. Heero's need was evident in his voice and as his friend, could he really turn down such a request? "All right," he sighed, resigning himself to the task. "Let me get my pillow."

He patted the darkness of his bed and quickly found his pillow, then turned to make his way towards the other side of the room where Heero's bed lay. Hearing the rustling of fabric, he sensed that the covers were being pulled back for him. Using his hands again, he found the top of the bed and eased himself down and lay stiffly near the edge of the narrow twin bed, feeling the heat of Heero's body, a scant inch from his own. He reached down and self-consciously pulled the covers up and over his legs and chest.

The room fell silent. His slow, regulated breathing, though soft, was loud in his own ears. Then came the sound and movement of Heero's body shifting and then Wing's pilot was suddenly pressed up against his side, his right arm, reaching over to lay across Duo's stomach and held tightly to his waist. Heero's head came to rest on his shoulder and Duo could smell the earthy scent coming from the brown, unruly hair.

Reaching his hand up, the braided teen patted Heero's forearm, resting on his stomach, and stretched his right arm out to ease the pain on his healing skin and loosely placed it around Heero's shoulder.

"Thank you," Heero whispered, turning slightly and nuzzling his face into his bed companion's neck for a moment. "This helps."

"You're welcome," Duo answered, feeling both uneasy and oddly comfortable at the same time while he comforted Heero. And then, for the second time in less than a day, Duo Maxwell gave into his need for sleep, with Heero Yuy cradled against him and their arms securely wrapped around each other.

Continued soon.

Author's note: Thanks for the comments, and to L.W., you're great. Thanks my friend.


	10. You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello

A Grudging Seduction

Bane's Desire

Part 10 - You Say Goodbye and I Say Hello

Heero was up and the place where he slept had long since gone cold by the time Duo woke the next morning. The braided teen slowly rose from the bed and limped stiffly over to his duffle bag to find some clean clothing. He noticed almost immediately that some of the constant ache and pain from his wounds had lessened, making them a bit more tolerable. Then rummaging through his duffle, he realized with a start that all of his clothing was missing from his bag. Turning his head to take in the immaculate room, he didn't see anything lying around either.

Hobbling to the bedroom door, he flung it open and bellowed, "Heero!" He was answered by silence. Looking back into the bedroom, he noted the clock on the bedside table said it was ten forty seven a.m, his stomach said it was time to eat. With a determined huff, he moved towards the stairs and looked over the banister to observe the area downstairs.

"Heero? Wufei? Man, where is everyone?" Again, only silence came in reply to his queries and it was beginning to become damn annoying.

Clothed only in his wrinkled boxers and t-shirt, Duo made his way down the steep staircase one cautious step at a time, his irritation mounting as he went. Once down, he limped to the kitchen, holding onto any available furniture on the way to help keep his balance.

He vaguely noted that the kitchen was immaculate and devoid of any clutter on the laminate counter top. Without sparing any more thought about it, he went to the refrigerator and opened it, only to find it nearly empty. A half carton of cream, several sticks of celery and carrots were in their respective plastic bags and various condiments were all that was available. With a huff, he forcibly shut the door and moved to the cupboards, finding them in a similar state of emptiness. A long suffering sigh carried him back into the living room where he sat and took up the TV remote. He turned the television on and flipped through the channels for at least ten minutes before the front door to the safehouse opened . Turning his head, he saw Heero enter with an armload of folded clothing. Spying his familiar black clothing in the stack, he gave his friend a berating look.

"I wondered what happened to my things," he said, hoisting himself up from the soft cushions with a bit of effort.

"I realized they were dirty and decided that I would wash them since I was doing laundry anyway," Heero shrugged as he replied, then had to grapple with the large pile to keep it from toppling over from the slight movement. "Besides, I wanted to find some way to thank you for last night." 

It was in the middle of that sentence that Wufei walked into the apartment, stopped cold, then raised a questioning eyebrow at Heero's statement. He cleared his throat to get the Wing pilot to move so he could carry the several bags in his arms into the kitchen.

Duo blushed almost crimson at seeing Wufei's reaction, but let the subject drop, slightly afraid that anything he said now in response to Heero's comment would be misconstrued by Wufei to be something other than what it was. Change the subject, his mind told him. "I hope that's food you've got in those bags, Wufei, because I'm in danger of starving here."

"I'll fix some lunch," the Chinese teen said, hurrying faster than usual past Heero and towards the kitchen while keeping his eyes averted in an obvious attempt to avoid meeting those of the other two boys. His quick retreat left the other two pilots alone in the living room once again.

"Well that was awkward," the American said, feeling embarrassed, and reached up his hand to self-consciously to scratch the top of his head. A movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned to see Heero moving away from him and towards the stairs that he proceeded to climb, the bundle of clothes still in his arms.

"It's only awkward if you want it to be," the darker haired boy replied quietly as he disappeared up the stairs, leaving Duo little doubt that Heero had offended by his simple comment.

He sighed deeply as he watched Heero disappear. He'd inadvertently messed things up once again and wondered how he was going to make it right with the other boy. One thing was for sure, he couldn't do anything sitting on the couch. He stood up from the padded sofa and hobbled over to the stairs and began the climb to the second floor. He paused at the top of the landing to get his balance, then followed Heero into their bedroom. 

As he stood inside the doorway, he watched as Heero moved about, pointedly ignoring him by occupying himself with separating the pile of clothing, putting Duo's neatly folded clothing on the top of his bed. Then returning to his own bed, Heero reached down to pull his well-worn duffle bag out from underneath it and began to put his neatly folded clothing into it. 

Duo watched the other pilot with a growing curiosity. There was a dresser in the room and he wondered why Heero wasn't using it. His own clothing hadn't been removed from his own duffle because he hadn't worn anything other than t-shirts and sweat pants over his boxers since he'd arrived. Maybe Heero wasn't planning on staying. "Going somewhere?" he asked, noting Heero didn't even look up from his task as he answered.

"Mission." 

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

That seemed suspicious to Duo as the other boy had just returned the day before. They usually took three to four days to recuperate from a mission before taking on another. He couldn't help but think that he might be the reason for Heero's early departure.

"I'm sorry, Heero. I feel like I offended you downstairs."

The other boy continued placing his belongings into the duffle. Duo swallowed hard. Why did he have to start on page one every time he had a mission set back? Father Maxwell's words came back to him again; an old, wise adage that said, 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again'. That might have to become his new motto with Heero as his mission objective. He walked up to the Wing pilot and put his hand on the middle of his back. "Thank you for doing my laundry. That was really nice of you."

The hands that could bend metal bars paused in their task. "You're embarrassed by the feelings I have for you," the Japanese boy stated, his facial features stiff, though his eyes looked almost crestfallen.

Duo was once again at a pivotal moment in his mission and his budding relationship with Wing's pilot. Be as honest as you can, he told himself a moment before responding. "I don't know how I feel, Heero. I told you, this is new to me. I want to figure out how I feel about this, about us, before the others realize what's happening. Do you really mind keeping this under wraps until I get it sorted out in my head?"

Heero straightened from his task and turned, looking at eye level with the violet-eyed pilot. "I understand being discrete with the public at large because of social prejudices against homosexuals," he replied. "But I don't care if the others know. They're our comrades. Our personal feelings for each other should have no bearing on their interactions with us."

"But what if it does?" Duo countered. "Did you ever think that they might not understand this kind of relationship or want to work with us if they have a problem with it? Did you see Wufei's reaction downstairs? From some of the statements he's made lately, I think he's figured out that something is going on between us. And if you didn't notice, just a simple, innocent statement from you sent him scurrying off to the kitchen. He wouldn't even look at us."

Heero took the two steps that separated them, bringing himself mere inches from the other boy's face. "I'm not ashamed of wanting you, Duo," he stated simply, then closed the distance between them to capture the full lips before him with his own. Strong arms went around the braided teen's waist and back, holding him in place while Heero used all his practiced and adept techniques to weaken the other boy's hesitance along with turning his knees to jelly. He didn't let up or seem satisfied until he heard the Duo moaning with helpless pleasure in his arms.

Duo found himself lost in the kiss that seemed to reach into his body and stir up sensations he didn't know he was capable of. His treasonous body was quick to react to the sensuous kiss, despite the mental whisperings near the surface of his mind reminding him that this wasn't right. Yet the physical responses he was experiencing as a result of Heero's lips on his own were telling him something altogether different. The two of them parted after an undetermined amount of time, each panting breathlessly and hearts racing. 

"Shit, Heero." The words were spoken in an awed, shaky voice, because that was all Duo could manage as he looked into the warm blue eyes intently observing his reaction.

"Lunch!" The words were yelled by Wufei from the bottom of the stairs and caused the mood to be broken between them. Duo stepped back, trying to extricate himself from Heero's arms and put some space between them, but Heero's grip on his waist held him firmly in place. 

"He's probably afraid to come up here and find us in this kind of position," Duo said blushing, alluding to the fact that they were still standing much too close to each other with their arms draped around the other's body and their lips slightly swollen, telling of their recent activity.

The look on Heero's face clearly showed that he didn't give a damn for what Wufei thought. Rolling his eyes in response to that expression, Duo gave Heero a lopsided grin. "I'm starving. Let's go eat."

He turned to move towards the doorway, noting the other pilot's contact with his body remained in the form of a firm hand resting on his left shoulder. It wasn't overtly announcing Heero's claim on him, but enough of one that it made Duo uncomfortable. He stopped just before exiting the door to look at the other boy, his voice pleading as he spoke. "Please, Heero." He nodded towards the hand touching him possessively on his shoulder.

Heero frowned, but reluctantly nodded. His hand slipped off the braided boy's shoulder and slowly, almost sensuously, trailed down the length of Duo's arm until their fingers touched, and in a movement that seemed strangely natural, their fingers entwined, bringing rough, calloused palms together. With their eyes locked on each other, Heero held their hands that way for just a moment, then let his fingers relax and slowly fall away, releasing his hold. Without another word, he turned and walked out of the room, leaving the braided teen to follow. 

Duo took in a deep, strangely shuddering breath and willed himself to calm down, then ordered his body to act normal. Placing his practiced grin on his face, he decided that, after going downstairs again, he would not shy away from Wufei and his piercing, all-seeing gaze. If he did, the Chinese pilots might become even more suspicious of his actions and guess what he was up to, maybe even discovering his duplicitous charade with the unsuspecting Heero. He only had to hold out until tomorrow, when Heero would leave for his mission. Once Heero was gone, he would have some time to get clear his mind and set a course of action towards keeping Heero interested enough to continue fighting and living without compromising his sexual identity completely.

Following after Heero, Duo once again moved with caution as he took the stairs down towards the kitchen and the food waiting below. Halfway down the staircase he stopped, finding himself puzzled about something odd that was happening within himself. There was a definite odd feeling growing inside him, a heaviness of heart that he couldn't quite place. It was a weighted sensation that seemed physical as well as emotional and made him feel decidedly uncomfortable. He paused to wonder at it for a moment, examining where the feeling was coming from. His conscience had been pricked, he decided, and chalked up the heaviness inside himself to his recent bout of lying and his intentions to manipulate Heero by using his attraction towards himself to complete a mission. Manipulating another person, even if it was for their own good, was something he would despise in anyone else. He didn't think he liked himself very much at the moment. 

"Duo!" Wufei's voice interrupted his inner turmoil. He decided now wasn't the time to psychoanalyze himself, he'd have to examine the unsettling feeling later and then deal with it. With that course of action decided, he pushed his concerns to the back of his mind, but even then, the heavy feeling didn't go away.

Heero spent the remainder of the day on his laptop and gathering supplies for the next morning when he would leave for his mission. Wufei straightened up after lunch then sat in a corner chair of the living room with a well-worn book. Duo settled himself on the couch and, with the TV remote held possessively in his hand, he surfed the many television stations, commenting frequently to no one in particular on the poor quality of programs and advertising during the day. He groused about how it seemed impossible to have seventy-two channels and still there was nothing to watch. 

Wing's pilot took over the preparation of the evening meal and the three pilots discussed the details of Heero's mission, with Duo and Wufei asking a few questions for clarification, then deciding in the long run that the Heero's plans for his mission were solid.

Duo settled into his bed as Heero made use of the bathroom. He pulled his covers up and over his shoulders, then closed his eyes with a sigh with relief; another day had passed well and he was dead-dog tired. He couldn't help but feel pleased about how things in general were going. His body was healing quickly and his long-term mission regarding Heero seemed to be on track. He was grateful to the seemingly enamored pilot for being discrete about his feelings and intentions towards him in front of Wufei since their talk that morning. The afternoon and evening had passed without the strained feelings he felt coming from both Heero and Wufei before and during lunch. Their quiet afternoon spent quietly together had eased any discomfort any of them had felt earlier, for the most part. He had received some rather odd and questioning looks from the Chinese pilot, but Wufei remained silent, not asking the questions that were obviously on his mind. 

He yawned deeply and the thought went through his head that tomorrow might prove to be an interesting day. He should really come up with some pat answers for any possible questions Wufei might ask; but frankly, he was just too damn tired to think anymore about it.

As sleep came upon him and the silence in the house deepened along with the darkness, he was unaware of the over head light being shut off, nor the near silent footsteps that padded into the room and came straight to his bed. He did notice, however, when his covers were momentarily drawn back and Heero climbed into bed with him.

"What the?" Duo asked, coming back to wakefulness immediately.

"Would you mind?" Heero asked quietly, pulling the covers back over the both of them. "I need a good night's sleep, without nightmares. Your physical presence last night seemed to help."

What was he supposed to say to that? Duo thought, resigning himself to once again sleeping in the same bed with a boy who desired him in a sexual way. He resisted the urge to groan at the tangled web he'd gotten himself into. Instead, he answered, "Alright, just don't hog the covers. I get cold easily."

There were no words of gratitude given for his generosity. Heero merely turned onto his side and raised Duo's arm up to a point where he could move around it to rest his head on the braided teen's left shoulder, then, moved his upper arm to drape over the injured boy's chest. He placed a chaste kiss on the American's smooth cheek then lay back down. It took a few moments for the both of them to settle comfortably, and several hours after that before Duo joined Heero in his restful sleep.

Heero woke early the next morning and in an amorous mood. His roving hands and fleeting kisses quickly woke Duo up from his sound sleep. The make-out session lasted for a good fifteen minutes before Duo declared a painfully full bladder and made a wobbly but hasty retreat to the bathroom where he told himself that his very present and embarrassing erection was due to waking up and not in response to Heero's sensuous foreplay.

He didn't come out from the bathroom until he heard Heero leave the bedroom and descend the staircase. He quickly hobbled to the shared room and changed into his clothing for the day. He stayed there, basically hiding, until he heard voices below, indicating that Wufei was up and it was safe to go downstairs and face Heero again.

Scrambled eggs and toast was the morning's meal, and the three seemed to enjoy it in relative silence. Duo offered to do the dishes, his reasoning being that the other two had done the majority of the cooking since he'd been brought to the safehouse. Wufei gladly relinquished the job to him, and Heero only paused with a questioning eyebrow raised towards him before he turned and also left the room.

There really weren't many dishes, but Duo lingered within the kitchen as long as possible, not quite knowing how he was going to say goodbye to Heero or the answers he would give to Wufei's expected questions. Everything had to balance. His words, actions, affection and responses all had to be calculated and measured for their effect. He rubbed his slightly aching forehead, never having dreamed a mission intended to keep Heero from self-destructing could be so taxing. 

A sound behind him brought the braided teen back to the moment, and sensing it was Heero behind him, he bent stiffly to put away a the last frying pan.

"I'm leaving now," Heero announced abruptly.

Duo turned to give him a smile and observed that Heero was dressed in his usual black shorts and tank top, his choice of clothing for missions. A duffle bag packed with extra clothing, food and an assortment of ammunition and weapons was sitting by his feet. "Kick their royal asses for me," he said, still grinning while Heero advanced on him, coming close enough for Duo to feel the heat of his body against his own. It was obvious to him that Heero wanted a proper goodbye and wasn't going to leave without it.

"Um... Wufei," Duo reminded him in a low voice.

Heero put his fingers against Duo's lips, then quickly replaced them with his own, soundlessly as we as soundly kissing the braided teen. They parted with a slight smack of their lips, and Heero gave the American another one of his knee-faltering smiles, promising so much while saying absolutely nothing at all before he turned and promptly left the room. 

Hearing the front door to the safehouse shut behind Heero, Duo let out the breath he'd been holding and leaned back against the counter top, his fingers rising to his lips where the lingering sensation of Heero's kiss was still present and fresh in his mind. He snorted and held back a chuckle, feeling at least somewhat gratified that Heero wasn't into lengthy, flowered-phrased goodbyes. No, instead he'd received a parting typical of Heero Yuy, that being a concise, efficient and perfectly executed farewell kiss. And that last look he shot over his shoulder let Duo know, in no uncertain terms, that he'd be back for more.

Part 11 coming soon

Thanks for all those who reviewed, it's wonderful to receive positive comments. To L.W., thanks, as always, and to Link Worshiper, I agree, there's a lot of wading to do in order to get to the good stuff, and I'm glad you think this story fits in that category. 


	11. Things That Go Bump In The Night

Warnings & Disclaimers: See page one please.

A Grudging Seduction

Bane's Desire

Part 11 - Things That Go Bump In The Night

After hearing the front door close behind Heero as he left for his mission, Duo allowed himself a satisfied smile. It seemed to him as if 'Mission Heero' was well on its way to becoming a complete success.

Lost in his thoughts for a moment and staring absently at absolutely nothing on the far wall, Duo failed to see or hear Wufei enter the kitchen, a lapse in attention that seemed to happen with more and more frequency. The clearing of the Chinese teen's throat caught his attention and Duo turned and lifted his eyes to see the other boy dressed comfortably in loose white pants and a black tank top, leaning against the doorframe that separated the kitchen and dining room. "Anything you want to tell me?" Wufei asked, one finely arched eyebrow raised as he folded his arms over his chest.

Duo swallowed hard, wishing more than ever that his legs were completely healed so that he could run out the door and escape the discussion they were about to have. He mentally prepared himself to be as elusive as possible and lie if it was absolutely necessary. 

He hated this mission.

Even though Wufei's penetrating gaze seemed to take in everything, especially the fact that he was nervous, and divine his secrets, he didn't pry or push for answers. It was obvious to Duo that his other housemate knew something was going on, but appeared to respect the fact that he either couldn't tell him what the reason was for his and Heero's unexpected closeness, or that he just wasn't ready to talk about it. Since both reasons were correct, Duo was grateful for the patience and tolerance Wufei granted him by letting him keep his secrets for the time being.

Quatre and Trowa made an appearance the next day. Both pilots appeared at the doorstep looking tired but happy to have a couple of days off, affording them a chance to rest.

Shortly after entering the safehouse, the small blond insisted on inspecting Duo's wounds, and though some of the scabs were almost ready to come off, they were dark and ugly looking. With worried eyes, Quatre asked his braided friend if he was still in pain.

"Aches a bit," Duo replied, referring to his leg damaged by both a bullet and a knife, "but the rest of it mostly just itches. I should be ready for a mission in a few days so stop worrying, Quat. Besides, I'm walking much better now, thanks to some exercises Wufei came up with to work my damaged muscle." He ignored the doubtful looks on the faces of the other three pilots. He then stood and walked across the room for them, proving by his slight limp that he was speaking truthfully.

Wufei left the following morning for a mission he'd put off in order to keep the incapacitated teen company. This gave Duo the opportunity to observe and converse with the other two pilots. It was rare for the three of them to be alone together, and it didn't take Duo long to notice that Trowa and Quatre had become really close friends. The Heavyarms pilot seemed to be solicitous to the blond's needs, making the special blend of tea that Quatre preferred in the morning along with his own coffee, and insisting each night that they retire early in order to regain their strength, depleted somewhat from the last mission. Quatre seemed to return Trowa's kindness by giving special attention to the tall, silent boy, keeping conversations going and rewarding Trowa with a dazzling smile whenever the usually reticent boy offered anything to the conversation, any insight to himself, or when they spoke about their shared love of music.

Two nights after Wufei's departure, Duo excused himself from the company of the other two, deciding to turn in early. He'd managed to wear himself out by having jogged around the neighborhoods surrounding the townhouse. The word 'jog' he used loosely since he felt he'd run at the pace of an arthritic turtle. He was appalled at seeing how out of shape he gotten in such a short amount of time and was determined to exercise more in the next few days in order to become mission ready. After making it up the stairs and to his room, he more or less fell onto his bed and quickly made himself comfortable. Thankfully, sleep came quickly to him that night.

An odd noise woke the American up suddenly from his deep sleep. Instantly alert and slightly alarmed, always fearful of discovery by the enemy, he lay still in his bed, his eyes seeing nothing but dark in the closed bedroom. He listened, trying to figure out what the sound was that awakened him so suddenly and if it had meant danger. Not able to hear anything further, he got out of bed and reached for the gun he always set on his bedside table. Taking off the safety and putting the cold metal against his chest, he silently exited his room and paused, listening for any sounds indicating an intrusion.

A creak downstairs diverted his attention to that direction and he silently made his way to the stairs, hoping to see if their safehouse had been compromised and that an intruder had entered.

He paused at the top of the stairs and looked down. The glow from the television screen was the only light in the otherwise dark house, and as Duo silently inched down the stairs, he could hear a deep moan coming from the couch. He felt a wave of relief shoot through him. It wasn't OZ after all. He wondered then if it was Quatre or Trowa who had fallen asleep on the couch and was experiencing a nightmare. He knew he should wake the other pilot, but that it wasn't a wise thing to do so with a fellow gundam pilot who was in the middle of a nightmare. He'd learned that lesson the hard way with Wufei a while back. In order to wake the troubled slumberer from his nightmares, he had to come up with an indirect approach.

Another moan and a gasp was heard coming from the couch, which faced away from his vantage point. The dream sounded like a bad one, and Duo was determined to end it for which ever friend was having it. He continued down the steps to the bottom of the stairs and reached for the wall switch to the ceiling light, located in the center of the living room. Flipping the switch up, the light above flashed on and the reaction from the couch was immediate. It was a toss up at that point as to who's face reflected the most shock as Trowa and then Quatre both shot up into a sitting position on the couch to find Duo standing with his hand frozen on the switch with his mouth hanging open, his eyes wide.

Duo blushed furiously to see that apparently neither of the two teens on the couch had a shirt on and from the position they'd come up from, it was easy to see that they certainly hadn't been in the middle of a nightmare.

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry." Duo rushed to say, then quickly turned the light out and fumbled his way up the dark stairs as quickly as possible. 

"Duo!" Quatre called out, and the sound of the two lovers scrambling off the couch was clearly heard by the retreating boy. The braided teen ignored the calling of his name and kept going until he was safely in his room. He clambered into his still-warm bed and pulled the blankets up and over his head, holding them tightly in place. He couldn't remember ever being in a situation like this before and felt his face burning from embarrassment at catching his friends together in a compromising position on the couch. Damn, he remembered a bit too late that he forgot to shut the door to his room.

Even with the blankets muffling the sound, Duo could hear the slight murmuring sounds of the other two pilots as they conversed in hushed and worried voices at the foot of the stairs. Then came the dreaded sound of twin footsteps as they began to climb upwards, and as they reached the upper landing, the two walked forward, making enough noise so that Duo could hear their approach to his bedroom door. The light switch in his room clicked on and with a feeling of apprehension, he knew that Quatre and Trowa weren't going to just let the incident pass without it being addressed.

"Duo," Trowa's soft voice firmly called his name.

The boy in hiding knew his voice, when he spoke, came out slightly muffled from speaking under the many layers of his blankets. "Look guys, I'm sorry. I thought someone was having a nightmare. I didn't.. ah, I mean I.. Um. Goodnight?" He winced as his voice squeaked on the last word.

Footsteps, and then the depression of the mattress at his side as someone sat next to him, let the braided teen know he was going to have to deal with this. The blankets, pulled tightly over his head, were forcefully pulled up and away, leaving the American feeling more than a little vulnerable. Reacting instinctively, he quickly sat up and came face to face with Quatre and his imploring blue-green eyes. Duo was quick to notice that he and Trowa were both fully dressed once again in the clothing that he'd seen them wearing earlier that evening.

An awkward silence arose like a brick wall between the three friends as each tried to think of something appropriate to say. Surprisingly, it was Trowa, the silent wonder, who spoke first. "Do you mind putting the gun down?" he asked.

Duo looked down to his hand, shocked that he'd forgotten he still held his weapon. He quickly put the safety on and set it on the bedside table. He then looked up his two friends with his chin down and eyes peering through his fringed hair.

Now that the gun had been safely set aside, Trowa continued in his usual calm manner. "We didn't mean for you to find out about us like this, Duo. I know it's probably a shock to you, but we hope you'll be open minded about our relationship and not judge us harshly."

Duo's mind went over past events, re-observing the two good friends together, the knowing smiles they gave each other, the way they seemed to have silent conversations with a glance or a roll of their eyes, a quirk of a smile or knowing look. He'd been rather jealous of their closeness, thinking of how he used to have similar way of communicating with Solo. He'd thought the other two pilots were just good friends, like him and his childhood mentor on the streets. How could he have been so naive as to miss the fact that his two comrades were in a relationship together?

He felt his face and ears grow hot with embarrassment. "Shit." He dragged his hand firmly across his face. "I don't know how I could have been dense enough not to see what was going on. All the signs were there, but I just didn't get it." He shook his head in disbelief of his own stupidity.

"We've tried to be discrete," Quatre said, his face equally tinged with pink. "But we got a little carried away downstairs, thinking you were asleep."

"I was," Duo said, his eyes looking down at the striped coverlet. "You woke me up. Like I said, I thought someone was having a bad dream with all the moaning going on."

The awkwardness returned as the three mentally fumbled for something else to say. This time it was Quatre who came to the rescue. "Does it bother you, Duo, that Trowa and I are together? Will it effect your being able to work with us?" the blond asked in a guarded manner.

"I don't know," Duo replied honestly. "Since I had no clue that you two were having a fling, I'm still a bit shocked. You know, I've heard about guys in the military turning to each other to meet...ah.. certain needs. I guess it's not for me to judge you."

Quatre looked taken aback by the American's response and Trowa's green eyes narrowed with something akin to anger. "This isn't a 'fling'," Trowa said, his tone cool enough to grow icicle from the hair hanging over his right eye.

Duo blinked owlishly. "Um...sorry," he mumbled, his eyes shifting nervously from the blond to the brunet.

Quatre turned his head to look back at Trowa and they shared one of those looks that communicated something Duo was ignorant of. The blond then turned back to the braided teen, his face calm and an indulgent smile on his face. "It's alright, Duo. You couldn't have known that Trowa and I love each other. This isn't a fling or a way to work off sexual tension. We've fallen in love with each other and both of us hope that you'll respect that."

Still looking from one to the other and relieved that Trowa's glare had softened, Duo managed a slight smile in return. "I'm glad guys," he replied. "It's hard to imagine two people finding love while fighting a war. I guess I can accept it a lot easier knowing that you're not just getting off on each other just 'cause you need to. Who am I to stick my nose up at love?" 

Quatre's smile grew brilliant. "Do you really mean that, Duo? We've been concerned about what everyone's reactions would be if they found out about us. Wufei seems rather unyielding in his view of life and Heero, well, he's all about the mission. I'm sure he'll frown at a personal relationship between us, especially during the war."

Duo laughed at that, catching the other two off guard for a moment. "You'd be surprised about that," he told them, thinking of Heero's persistent advances towards himself. 

"Will you keep this to yourself?" Trowa asked.

Duo's laughter stopped and he became serious as he considered a reply. "You're sure about your feelings for each other, right?"

Both boys nodded, and Trowa's hands came to rest on Quatre's slender shoulders.

"Then don't you think it would be easier if you just said something? Then you wouldn't have to hide your feelings for each other."

"We can't risk my family finding out about this until I'm older and come into my inheritance," Quatre said, with all seriousness. "They'll not take kindly to the fact that the heir to the Winner fortune, my father's only son and hope for the family company is gay and not intending to fulfill my duty of producing a multitude of off-spring in order to keep all the Winner money in the family's name."

Duo frowned, not really knowing what to say about that. He didn't know much about families or how they worked. "What is the worst they could do?" he asked out of curiosity. 

"Ostracize me and have me disowned, then cancel my accounts which I depend on to supply many of our safehouses, clothing, food, ammunition, medical care and repairs on our gundams when needed."

Duo thought of all the places and things Quatre's money had afforded them. Without his substantial financial backing, fighting the war would be much more difficult. He and the other pilots would probably spend more time hacking funds and buying ammo, fuel cells and equipment from the underground than they would fighting. He could see Quatre's dilemma. "I'll keep your secret," he told the both of them, earning their smiles of gratitude.

Heero didn't return to the safehouse for the rest of that week. Ten days after his departure, Duo received orders to proceed to a school in Kyoto, Japan, located within close proximity to their target, a manufacturing plant in the nearby port city of Kasatsu that produced circuitry boards for OZ's mobile dolls. The American was instructed to join Heero, already set up in the school, to plan and infiltrate the plant in order to steal the computer schematics and an actual circuit panel to study for flaws in the system that they might be able to exploit. Duo was given one week from the day the message was received to arrive at the school where his enrollment and paperwork had already been taken care of.

Quatre had been going out of his way to please Duo ever since the night he found the two love birds fooling around on the couch. So after he learned of Duo's orders, the blond Arabian generously offered to provide a transport plane from the states to Japan for himself and Deathscythe. It was an offer Duo was happy to accept.

His feet felt like lead and weariness crept through his nearly healed body as he made his way to his assigned dorm room. He'd arrived in Kyoto the night before and kept his gundam in Quatre's transport plane that was currently stored in a private hanger at the airport just outside the city. 

Knowing Heero had set up his identity and had the paper work done for him in advance of his arrival, Duo more or less meandered through the city in the predawn hours that morning in order to become better acquainted with it and arrived at the school well past the starting hour. He hoped to find Heero early in the day to let the other pilot know he'd arrived safely. 

He'd barely set foot inside the doors of the learning institution before he was immediately pounced on by an overly efficient hall monitor. He was led directly to the school director's office where he was regaled to a lengthy diatribe of rules and regulation that took up much of the morning. Several sets of the required student uniform were given to him and he tried not to look horrified at the pleated blue shorts and slacks, the crisp white shirts, the blue jacket and cardigan as well as several red ties. Blue and white socks that came to the knee and shiny black shoes were the apparent accessories that were also mandatory.

He was led to a changing room where he was instructed to put on one of the uniforms. He chose to wear the long pants, white shirt and blazer. The minute he stepped out of the changing room, the school's secretary met him and then promptly led him to a locker where he was told to put his duffle bag and remaining uniforms until after school. 

With his schedule in hand, the administrator's secretary took him around the grounds of the campus and then from room to room, introducing him to students and teachers alike. High pitched tittering and whispers of excitement came from the female population, hiding their mouths behind their hands as they whispered to each other about the new student. The boys in each class looked at him with politeness and blatant curiosity. He had been warned by Miss Chung, the secretary turned tour guide, that blonds and brunets were a rarity in Japan and that he should expect to get more than his share of attention. She expressed her hope that he would dissuade the other students from getting carried away and causing any disruption in the classes.

It was during his introduction to his fourth period class, already in session, that he spotted Heero, seated in the row of desks on the far side of the room, paralleling the wall of windows that looked over the school grounds and located pretty much in dead center. Duo blinked as Heero turned his head at the interruption and his entrance and graced him with a penetrating, heated stare. He quickly turned his head towards the teacher at the front of the room, feeling his cheeks heating up and hoping not to draw any attention to the fact that he and Heero knew each other. A slight involuntary tremor passed through his uniformed-clad body despite his wearing the blue blazer. His reaction had nothing to do with the air conditioning in the classroom. No, it had been the look in Heero's eyes as they locked with his own; it was the look of a predator locking in its prey. Heero appeared to be hungry for something and Duo had a shaky feeling that he pretty much could guess what it was.

Three more classes followed after that, and with each introduction, Duo received almost the very same overwhelming greeting from the other students. He was relieved to finally hear the sound of a bell and the doors to the classrooms were flung open and excited voices burst through the air as students clamored their way from classrooms to the lunchroom. 

"After lunch," Mrs. Chung droned on with yet more instructions, spoken as if she'd given this speech hundreds of times before and was more than a little bored with the job. "You will resume classes, starting with class five on your schedule. If you have any trouble, speak with your teacher or come to my office and I will be happy to assist you. Do you have your dorm room number and key?"

Out of his jacket pocket came a key with the round white tag attached that had printed 'Room 219' on it, which he promptly showed to her. The woman smiled. "Good luck to you, Mr. Kent. I hope you'll enjoy your time here at Shunghou Academy. You are free now to get your lunch and become acquainted with the other students." With a slight bow, the petite, black haired woman left him in hallway as she walked away.

He was alone for about ten seconds before he was approached by several giggling females. One girl stood forward as the spokesman for the other three and shyly asked him if he was an American. He answered yes, and a dozen or more probing but harmless questions were thrown at him as the group collectively tugged on his jacket sleeves, insisting they escort him to the cafeteria. It all seemed to go downhill from there. He found himself in a large lunchroom surround by a sea of blue uniforms, black hair and brown eyes, all looking at him with a mixture of admiration and curiosity. 

He was physically pulled through the lunch line where every item behind the glass was described in great detail and the group of students surrounding him insisted he try everything. By the time he left the line, his tray was stacked embarrassingly high. His eyes frantically searched the room, hoping to find Heero to provide some form of rescue. But when he finally spotted Wing's pilot sitting at a corner table to the back of the room, he could see he was already seated with a group of his own followers surrounding him. The American doubted he'd be finding any help from that quarter and he would just have to make do with the situation and hoped to the heavens above that the more rigidly run classrooms would afford him some space. That hope evidently fell on deaf ears.

So here he was, almost ten hours after his arrival at the school, trudging his way to his assigned room. He'd endured the questions and petting and pulling and incessant talking around him for far too long. All he wanted now was to take a shower and go to bed.

He turned to the room with the gold metallic numbers indicating room two nineteen, and inserted his key into the door, only to have it open suddenly from the other side and the face of an unhappy Wing pilot, still in his blue slacks and white shirt, glaring at him. He was quickly grabbed a hold of and brought inside the room before the door was shut firmly behind him.

"Where have you been?" Heero demanded, well within Duo's supposed personal space.

"Trying to escape," Duo replied with weary irritation while dropping his duffle bag and armful of uniforms unceremoniously to the floor. "You could see the situation I was in, why didn't you come and rescue me? Pull the damn fire alarm or set off a bomb or something. Anything would have been preferable to the ear-splitting chattering going on around me all day. Please, tell me we won't have to stay here long?"

The formidable look on Heero's softened as he took in the honest weariness on his roommate's face. He closed the short distance between them and embraced the fatigued boy. "I missed you," Heero whispered into the other boy's ear.

Duo sighed. He really was too tired to fight off Heero's affections or think about how to use the situation to his advantage, so he just gave into it and leaned heavily against the other pilot, allowing Heero to support his sagging weight. "Me too," was his vague answer, followed immediately by a yawn.

After a couple of long, lingering moments, Heero eased Duo's lethargic body back, took hold of his arm and lead him to one of the two made-up beds and sat him down. The American collapsed to his side dramatically and grinned up at the Japanese boy studying him. "I'm certainly not going to be the life of the party tonight," he chuckled and followed that brief statement with another prolonged yawn.

He closed his eyes, promising himself that it would only be for a moment, and was only vaguely aware when his right foot was picked up in gentle hands and his shiny new shoe was removed. His foot was set back into its relaxed position and the other foot was relieved of its shoe also. But instead of setting his left foot down, Heero began to massage it, bringing sounds of both pain and pleasure from the boy on the bed.

After no less than five minutes of Heero's massaging each foot, Duo felt like his bones were liquid, so much so that it was with considerable effort that Heero coaxed him into sitting up and discarding his jacket and then the rest of his uniform. After that was accomplished, he was neatly tucked into his bed. Duo's sleepy mind decided the mattress he was curled up on was really very comfortable. He fell asleep to the sound of Heero typing on his laptop, a familiar sound that acted as a lullaby, with the rhythmic staccato easing away all the irritations of the long and irksome day. 

The sleeping boy was only vaguely aware sometime later when Heero climbed into bed with him. He wasn't startled this time as the covers were lifted and cool air hit his body, nor worried when he felt the other pilot's body press against his side or a head settle on his shoulder. When a cool arm settled across his tee-shirt covered stomach, he instinctively reached up and patted the hand resting there, then drifted back to sleep with only the sound of Heero's contented sigh following.

TBC

Author's note. Thanks guys for the reviews. It looks as if Ff.net still has a bit to do in sorting out some of its recent problems, but I'll try to get this posted. As for any grammar mistakes, spelling etc, past or present, *shrugs and grins* let's just say I was never at the top of my English or typing classes. I certainly don't think of myself as much of a writer, just someone with a vivid imagination struggling to express in print. I consider writing fanfiction as active practice. I'm far from perfection but striving to become better. Thanks for putting up with me.


	12. A Rivals Arrival

Disclaimer: See page one

Reluctant Seduction

As imagined by: Bane's Desire

Warning: slight lime this chapter.

Part 12 - A Rival's Arrival

The following day at school proved to be a much better one for the American. Now that the two of them had formally met as roommates, Duo noticed that Heero spent as much time as possible at his side. Heero's attentiveness towards the new student seemed to be the topic of many whispered discussions held behind the other students' hands and raised notebooks. The situation wasn't helped by the warning glares that was given by the previously aloof loner when anyone approached the boy with the long, brown, braided hair and the large blue eyes. Those few individuals who dared enough to press forward and engage the American in conversation, despite his companion's glowering disapproval, only remained at Duo's side a few moments until the cold, blue eyes finally unnerved them and they made a hasty retreat.

"Damn, Heero, I think you've got a great future ahead of you as a bodyguard to the rich and famous," Duo grinned lazily at his companion, choosing to ignore for the moment that his friend was being a bit too possessive. "Either that or some sort of deranged snake charmer, staring the poor creature into a catatonic state. I figure that since you've perfected that glare of yours, you might as well cash in on it, but I'm afraid you're going to have to work a bit more on what it means to be subtle and blending in."

The Wing pilot shrugged insouciantly as he took the other chatty pilot's arm and led him through the crowded corridor towards their lockers. "Maybe I'll do that, after the war," he replied, earning a surprised look and sly grin from Duo.

"Heero." The braided boy's step slowed as he looked into the other boy's face, then lowered his voice so only the Wing pilot could hear him. "You really do believe there's going to be a time after the war, don't you?" 

"I told you that I'd try." 

The former grin on the American's face blossomed into a full, dazzling smile. "I'm glad, Heero. Really." Duo said sincerely, silently marveling at the changes he'd been seeing in Heero. Unlike his first impressions of Heero, he now knew that Wing's pilot was more than just a soldier dedicated to his duty and he felt privileged to have seen a side of Heero he doubted anyone else, other than maybe Dr. J, had seen before. He was sure the other guys would never believe him if he were to tell them that Heero Yuy, dubbed by his comrades at times as the Perfect Soldier, had another side to him. Who would believe that the efficient, calculating and stoic Japanese pilot was actually capable of being gentle, sensitive, caring and someone who liked to cuddle? When he thought about it, Duo wouldn't have believed those things himself if he hadn't experienced them first hand.

In reply to his words, Heero gave him a slight smile, his eyes shifting to all the strangers surrounding them, noting their lack of privacy. Taking Duo's arm again, he pulled him forward, moving them towards their lockers.

No sooner had Duo shut the metal door of his locker, when Heero heard a familiar voice calling out through the throng of students. "Heero! What a surprise to meet up with you again."

The Wing pilot had been leaning against the locker next to Duo's, waiting patiently while his partner sorted through the books inside. At the call of his name and recognition of the voice, he stiffened, shot Duo a look that resembled a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck, then composed himself and turned his most bland expression back to the girl approaching them with a demure smile on her face. The crowd of dark haired students parted before her like the Red Sea did for Moses, obviously having recognized who she was and making the girl's approach even more dramatic.

Undaunted by all the attention she was drawing to herself and her potential target, Relena came to stand before the two pilots, clutching her books to her chest. She gave a brief nod of acknowledgment to the American before returning her adoring eyes to the object of her affections. "So we meet again, Heero."

"The name is Kazou," Heero corrected her, hoping she'd catch on quickly to his alias. "You remember Clark, don't you? Clark Kent?" He motioned to Duo, who couldn't help the snicker of amusement that always followed the sound of the name that G had selected as his alias. Heero then gave a pointed look at the blond girl telling her, more or less, to play along.

Relena blinked in momentary confusion, then proved she could be quick on the uptake when she needed to be. "So you're going by your middle name now. I like it." Again, the brilliant smile came to her lips, accompanied by the dreamy-eyed look that was focused completely on Heero. It didn't go unnoticed by anyone watching them that she avoided any further acknowledgment of Duo's presence.

"Um... we're going to be late for class if we don't get a move on," the American teen interjected, giving the other boy a slight nudge with his elbow.

"Goodbye, Relena," Heero said with a touch of finality to it.

This time it was Duo who took Heero's elbow and led him quickly away from the scene Relena had created. A buzz of hushed voices followed in their wake. "How the hell did she find us?" Duo ground out under his breath with a frown on his face, hoping their identities hadn't been compromised by the girl's arrival and announcement of their having previously met.

"I don't know," Heero growled, obviously not any happier about Relena's arrival than Duo. "I'm sure I covered my tracks well and our aliases are perfectly legit on the records if they're traced."

"Knowing her," Duo sighed, "we'll have plenty of opportunities to ask her." He was pretty sure he heard Heero groan.

Sure enough, during the dinner hour in the cafeteria, Relena once again took center stage and approached the two boys trying to sit inconspicuously, side by side, with their backs facing towards the wall at the far end of the large, table-filled room. "May I join you?" she asked coquettishly.

Duo looked from Relena to Heero, and noticed his friend's face was stony and unfriendly. It was clear that the only thing he would give the girl permission to do at the moment was to go jump off a cliff. The braided teen took a small measure of pity on her when he saw the hopeful look in her eyes turn to one of hurt. Hell, he never liked to see a girl get her feelings hurt, not even Relena. "Sure, have a seat," he spoke up, motioning to the empty place in front of him. He ignored the 'are you crazy' look Heero shot his way.

Relena gave him a small, grateful smile then proceeded to sit directly in front of the boy she'd chased across the planet. After placing her napkin on her lap and setting her utensils in their proper place alongside her plate, Relena looked up with a satisfied expression on her face. "Well at least the food at this school looks better than the last school we attended together."

Heero's eyes scanned the area around them to determine whether or not he could speak in a frank manner to the interloper without being overheard. Ascertaining the distance between them and other students was sufficient, he leaned forward and spoke to the girl in a quiet voice. "How did you track us here?" he demanded.

A sly smile grew on Relena's pretty face. "I have my ways," she replied, then carefully placed a fork full of rice into her mouth and demurely chewed it with a gloating smile.

"We're on a mission and you could be endangering it by bringing attention to us," Heero said in a stern tone, hoping to reason with her.

The girl's blue eyes rolled. "Oh please," she laughed daintily, and her eyes turned to Duo. "Like he doesn't draw any attention in this place with that hair of his. Really, Heero," she chuckled with amusement as she returned her attention back to the plate in front of her.

Duo gave an apologetic look to the other pilot knowing he couldn't rebut her on that point. His hair color and its length always stood out, and in a Japanese school it was even worse than usual, but he'd be dammed if he'd cut it. 

"I don't mind Duo gaining the curious attention of the other students," Heero hissed. "It's OZ that I'm concerned about. You are a notable person, Relena. Your father was an important man for the government and his assassination is still headline news. We don't want the press or government officials to discover us here while they check up on your whereabouts. You're not only endangering our mission, but our lives as well."

"Don't be ridiculous, Heero." Relena replied, casually dismissing his concern. "No one is going to follow me to a new school." 

Heero calmly but intentionally pushed his tray forward, signaling he'd finished with his half-eaten meal and was done speaking with the girl. "I'm done," he announced and rose from his bench. He looked down at his partner. "You coming?"

"I'm just gonna finish up my meal. You go ahead to the room. I'll catch up shortly."

Heero's eyes narrowed, wondering what Duo was up to. But the American gave him a reassuring smile and rolled his eyes towards Relena to let his partner know he was going to try and talk to her. The Wing pilot nodded his approval, picked up his tray and left the two more or less to themselves.

Relena turned her head and watched Heero go, her eyes drinking him in until he exited the room. She then sighed with regret as she turned back to Duo, who had moved over from his own spot at the table to take Heero's seat directly across from her. "What is it going to take for him to admit his feelings for me?" She pointedly asked the braided teen as she returned to her meal.

"Ya know, I don't want to hurt your feelings or anything, Relena," Duo replied a bit condescendingly. "But don't you think Heero is sending you some serious negative vibes? Even I can see he's not smitten with you."

Relena shrugged. "It's part of the Japanese culture not to show a lot of emotion, plus it's probably a part of his training. I know him, Duo. He's had opportunities to kill me, he's even threatened me several times but he hasn't done anything about it. In fact, he saved me from being killed when the Alliance attacked the first school we attended together. Heero cares about me; he's just very subtle about it."

Duo wondered how it was possible for the girl to see the situation so differently than how others viewed it. The saying 'love is blind' certainly applied to Relena; she was blind to Heero's antipathy towards her. "I think you're delusional," he said as he finished off his main dish of pork and vegetables.

The girl's eyes focused on him in a discerning way. "Why is it you're always paired with Heero? You two seem to have gotten rather chummy."

"When you work for a common goal, you have a tendency to rely on your comrade," he told her in a quiet voice, conscious of those students around them. "Heero's my friend and I look out for him and he looks out for me as well." He raised his glass to finish off the rest of his soda. 

A look of suspicion crossed the girl's face and her blue eyes hardened as they narrowed. "He's going to be mine, Duo. Don't even think for a moment that you can come between us."

The American hadn't expected that, and as a result he choked on the carbonated beverage, mid-swallow, and coughed violently, immediately catching the attention of everyone in their vicinity. After about a minute of trying to get control of his cough, he was able to speak again. "I can't believe you said that," he glared at her accusingly.

"I mean it, Duo," she said with all seriousness. "I know you're from L-2 and what that generally means." A look of disgust crossed her face a moment before her eyes narrowed with determination. "He's mine. Stay away from him."

"Like hell he is," Duo snapped back, shocked and angry now as well. Feeling the weight of many eyes on him, he lowered his voice again and leaned forward so only Relena could hear his words spoken through clenched teeth. "You are a pompous, arrogant, spoiled brat, Relena, who hasn't learned that you can't have everything you want. Heero belongs to no one. He's dedicated only to winning this war. Leave him alone." He pronounced the last three words separately, clearly and in a firm tone, then stood and picked up his tray. He moved around the table, but the paused to bend over and whisper in parting. "In fact, leave all of us alone to do what we have to for the colonies." With that said he quickly left the girl sitting alone at the table with most of the curious brown eyes in the room fixed on her.

After bussing his dishes and tray, Duo strode with determined steps out of the room and down the corridors of the building. Anger seemed to radiate from him and blaze in his eyes as he strode through the hallways. Those students lingering in hallway took one look at the dark expression on his face and quickly got out of his way.

'Why'd she say that?' he asked himself. He wondered for a moment if she was merely afraid that he'd influence Heero to shun her, or if she was insinuating that he was trying to take Heero away from her. Her words could have meant either, but with his mission regarding Heero, he took them to mean that she believed he was chasing after Heero, like she was. That little dig about being from L-2 added fuel to the fire. He knew the reputation L-2 had in regards to the other colonies and Earth. It was a cesspool of thieves, cutthroats, prostitution and drugs. Anyone admitting to come from L-2 was automatically thought to be in one of those categories. It was pretty obvious that Relena had assumed the worst of him even though he hadn't said or done anything in the girl's presence that would indicate he was any of those things or that he was chasing after Heero as her comment might have inferred. 

On the other hand, maybe he wasn't as clever as he thought he was. After all, he was, in a way, after Heero, but he considered it a mission and one that had a higher goal than just teenage hormones. His so-called mission to save Wing's pilot would, in the long run, not only benefit millions of people housed in the colonies above Earth when they won the war, but would preserve Heero's life so that he could enjoy the peace they were fighting for. After surviving the war, Heero would then have the opportunity to live a full life, one for which he would no longer think of as disposable. 'But dammit,' he fumed to himself, 'I'm not gay,' his mind insisted, and it bothered him to no end that Relena had indirectly accused him of it.

Before he knew it he found himself outside his and Heero's dorm room. He paused for a moment to calm himself, to let go of his agitation. Once he felt more in control, he took out his key from his pant's pocket and opened the door.

Heero was sitting in the chair at his desk and was bent over to retrieve some books from his back pack. "That was quick," he said, a curious eyebrow raised.

"Yeah? Well, you know what a lovely dinner companion Relena can be," Duo replied and moved towards his own desk and the backpack resting in front of it on the floor.

"What did she say?"

Duo shrugged and replied casually as he dug through his backpack, "That you're hers and she warned me not to come between you two."

"Too late for that," Heero snorted with amusement.

For some unexplained reason, that simple comment by the other boy brought a tidal wave of irritation up from deep inside the braided boy's chest, and before he could catch himself, he blurted out, "Are you sure you're making the right choice, Heero? After all, Relena's not a bad looking chick; she's loaded with money and comes from a hoity-toity family. She could do a lot for you, ya know, take you places you want to go and buy you things that you like, and it's obvious that she's turning herself inside out to get your attention. Don't you think that you'd probably be better off with her than a homeless punk like me? I mean, I've got nothing, zilch, nada, zero, no money, no home or family. I think she'd be the smarter pick for you."

Duo suddenly stopped his speaking and rummaging when the room went absolutely still. He hadn't looked at Heero while he spoke his mind, but now, out of the corner of his eye, he could see the tips of Heero's shoes standing before him. He raised his head and eyes up to see the other teen looking down at him with a scowl on his face. 

"Do I look like the kind of guy who would be satisfied by being taken care of by a boot-licking girl?" he snarled.

Duo swallowed the large lump in his throat. "Um.... no."

"Then why did you say that? Why do you put yourself down?" 

The braided teenager found his shoulders grabbed and he was forcibly brought up to stand on his feet, inches from Heero's angry face. "I was just talking practically, Heero. Relena comes with lots of perks that I'm sure she'd be happy to share everything with you. Man, I didn't mean to put myself down, just stating the facts."

"I have no home, wealth or family either, Duo." Heero's glare softened slightly as did his grip on the blazer the braided boy wore. "I am a soldier, a killer. I have seen and done things that a girl like Relena could never imagine. I have nothing in common with the girl other than the fact that we both desire peace."

"Opposites attract." Duo said softly in rebuttal. With his eyes unable to meet Heero's they focused on the other pilot's lips.

A sly smile grew on Heero's face and Duo wondered nervously about it. "You and I have many commonalities that bind us as comrades," Heero began. "But I think we are opposite enough in temperament and personality to validate that statement." With that said, Heero impulsively leaned forward and took Duo's lips with his own and began a kiss so passionate, that he was sure the braided boy would not soon forget it. 

Duo's hands clung to the back of Heero's white shirt for support as his senses became overwhelmed by what the other boy's talented mouth and tongue were doing to him. For a few moments, time had no meaning and his thoughts abandoned him to the sensations of the kiss. All that existed for him was Heero's mouth on his own, his tongue sweeping erotically in and out of his mouth, and that their bodies were pressed closely together. When he found his mouth freed at last and was able to breathe once again, he looked up with dazed eyes to see Heero wearing a very knowing and satisfied smirk on his face.

"Have you ever had anyone else's kiss affect you like that?"

The American numbly shook his head, his mind reeling from knowing it was the truth.

"See, there are some things that power, money, and a good name can't buy; and we have what others would trade anything for if they could."

"And what's that?" Duo asked, slowly coming back to his senses.

"Chemistry and a connection," Heero answered, then pushed his partner down into his chair. With a crooked grin he added, "We've also got homework to do before we review the mission, so get to it." The dark haired boy then turned on his heel and returned to his desk and his studies.

Duo automatically began to fumble within the confines of his backpack again, not looking for anything in particular but just trying to sort out his jumbled feelings. Shit, Heero's kiss had knocked him for a loop, and the question Heero posed after it, if anyone else's kiss had ever left him feeling dizzy, weak and unbalanced, but all in a good way, had left him reeling. If he was straight, then why the hell were Heero's kisses so intoxicating? He couldn't seem to get enough of them once he and Heero got started, and it was always the other pilot who ended their little make-out sessions, not him, the reluctant seducer.

Did that mean he was gay?

Duo pushed the question aside, not willing to dwell on it or believe it was even conceivable. Instead, he pulled out several books and a binder, trying to recall what assignments Heero had said they had for homework. His notes stated that he had a little reading to do, a one page summary of the A.C. 50 economic crash, and a bit of math. If he concentrated, he could be finished in less than an hour.

"Hey, Heero?" he called out to his roommate. "After the homework's done, wanna go out and do something?"

The shaggy haired boy turned around in his chair looking mildly curious. "What do you suggest?"

"I don't know," Duo shrugged. "We could go out for some ice cream or a movie."

"Ice cream," Heero replied decisively. "We have to go over the mission plans tonight. A movie will keep us out too late."

"I'll be done in about an hour," Duo said, pulling his economics book out of his pack.

"One hour then," Heero agreed. "It's a date." 

When Duo's head lifted up sharply at that pronouncement, he was only given the view of the back of Heero's head.

The two boys walked nearly shoulder to shoulder down the city street a little over an hour later. Their eyes and ears were constantly alert for any sign that they were being observed or followed. Such close attention to their surroundings came naturally to the two teenagers: Heero, having been trained to be constantly on guard and vigilant, and Duo, who did it out of habit, a necessary life-saving trait from years of living on L-2.

The first ten minutes of their outing was a bit stiff. All Duo could think about was Heero's last words, 'It's a date.' Damn, he was actually on a date with the guy. But somehow that realization didn't feel as horrible as he thought it would. Heero was his friend and was proving to be a great guy. A little anal at times but, nonetheless, easier to be around since he declared his attraction and intentions of being with him.

Little by little, Heero coaxed him out of his thoughts with questions about L-2 and his life on the streets. Before Duo knew it, he was practically spilling his guts to the other boy. The Wing pilot proved himself to be a good listener, making small sympathetic replies and asking pertinent questions in order to fully understand Duo's convoluted and tragic past.

They arrived at the ice cream shop and ordered sundaes. Duo's had three scoops of various flavors of ice cream, bananas, chocolate and caramel toppings, all of which were liberally coated with whipped cream and toasted nuts. Heero opted for a single strawberry sundae. The shop had only a smattering of customers, being a week night, and that allowed the two boys dressed in jeans, tee-shirts and jackets to sit in a booth in the back of the small eatery that gave them a full view of the room and anyone entering or exiting.

In a low voice, Heero told Duo of his early memories, of training with Odin Lowe. He spoke of hours spent shooting guns, perfecting his shot, and then aiding his mentor when he had 'jobs'. "He was an assassin by trade," Heero said, looking up from under the fringe of hair that hung over his forehead to gauge Duo's response. The braided boy paused in his eating with the spoon dangerously dangling from his loose lips.

"You helped him?" Duo asked after taking the spoon out of his mouth.

Heero nodded, suddenly ashamed. "I took out my first target at ten years old."

"Shit!"

Heero looked curiously at the other boy, trying to decipher exactly what Duo meant by that. Was he upset, shocked, angry, or repulsed? He recalled that the American seemed to use that one-word expression a lot. It only took another moment before the braided teen went on to elaborate.

"Damn, if that's what a parental figure does, I'm grateful as hell that I didn't have one."

Heero nodded his head. His memories of Odin weren't all bad, but there was a lot that were horrifying, and just talking about the man put off the comfortable mood he and Duo had established that evening.

Also sensing the change, the Deathscythe pilot changed the subject. "So, what do you think about Mr. Yashamoto? I don't know about you, but I think that guy needs to have his head examined. I swear I saw him looking up one of the girls' skirt yesterday. Isn't he a bit old for that? He's definitely one weird dude. "

Slowly the atmosphere between them began to warm again as Heero listened to Duo speak about various teachers they shared and his twisted observations of their mannerisms and quirks. Their dessert was long gone before they noticed the time. An hour had passed by quickly and Heero mentioned they should return to their room.

They walked back on campus and were casually making their way towards the dorms when Relena suddenly stepped out of the shadows in front of them. The sudden movement caused both soldiers to go on the defensive, reaching for their hidden weapons. They recognized her and relaxed their hands, lowering them to their sides.

"Not a very smart idea to be hiding in the shadows, Relena," Duo told her in a scolding voice.

"I've settled my things into my room and thought I'd take a walk around campus, but it's rather dark and I'm not sure it's safe. I wonder if you'd take me back to my dorm building, Heero."

"It's safe here," the Wing pilot replied in a disinterested voice. "You can take yourself back."

"Please, Heero. I would like a chance to talk to you. I never did tell you of the time I spent with Dr. J."

Duo noticed her words got an instant reaction in the Japanese boy as his body stiffened. "What did he say to you?" he asked in a low voice. 

"I'm not sure if I should repeat it in front of anyone else. You understand, don't you?"

Duo looked incredulous at the girl's obvious ploy to get Heero all to herself. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, then looked at the boy standing next to him. Disbelief came when Heero nodded his head. 

"Alright, I'll take you back." He then turned to Duo. "I'll meet you in the room shortly. Do not go to sleep."

Duo watched as Heero offered his arm to the girl and the two walked away leaving him standing there, staring after them, a bit confused as to what had just happened. He stood there long enough to see Relena look over her shoulder to give him a smug, triumphant grin. He promptly turned on his heels and went back to his room to prepare for bed. 

Sitting only in his boxers on top of his bed, the braided teenager glared at the door and wondered, not for the first time, where in the hell Heero was? He'd been gone for about an hour and it was getting late. Jumping to his feet, he tossed back his covers, turned his bedside light off and crawled into bed. He'd be damned if he was going to wait up for Heero when his partner was certainly taking his time in getting back to the room.

Of course, being in an agitated state didn't help him go to sleep, so he was wide awake when the sound of a key being inserted into the door brought his mind and body to total stillness. He pulled the covers up over his head just as Heero entered the dark room. 

There was a long pause before the door closed and the light on Heero's desk was turned on. "I thought I told you not to go to bed," Heero said in an unhappy tone of voice.

"Yeah?" Duo snapped, flipping the covers off his head as he his eyes opened to glare at the Wing pilot. "Well I kind of got bored waiting for you to haul your ass back here, so deal with it." He then flopped his body over to face the wall.

There was another long, drawn-out pause, allowing Duo to calm down enough so that he could hear past the sound of his blood rushing in his ears to realize by the subtle rusting of fabric, that Heero was undressing.

"You're jealous," Heero stated, his voice sounding amused.

"Shut up."

"There's no reason to be."

"I'm not jealous," Duo insisted indignantly, tightening the covers over his shoulders.

The click of the desk light being turned off was the only sound in the room. Duo defied anyone to be able to hear Wing pilot's movements when he was barefoot, because he sure as hell didn't until Heero whispered next to his ear. "I think you are jealous and I like it."

Turning his head to respond with a smart-ass remark, Duo made a tactical mistake by making his mouth available to the boy whose face was only inches from his own. His lips were immediately seized by Heero's and a dizzying couple of minutes passed before the other boy pulled up, leaving both of them breathing raggedly. Their eyes met. Drinking in each other by the moonlight streaming in through the unshuttered window and clouded only by passion, they both silently sought and asked for more of what was growing between them. 

Forgetting his former reticence about his body's physical reaction to Heero, when said pilot tugged at the tightly held covers, Duo let them slip through his fingers. He forgot his earlier insistence that this was wrong as the cool hands began to make themselves acquainted with the bare skin of his chest and back. As his mouth was taken by the other's practiced lips yet again, it slipped his mind that he was upset with his partner for letting Relena manipulate him into doing what she wanted. When one of Heero's hands slipped down the back of his boxers and began to massage and knead the flesh he found there, there was an absence of memory that they were being discrete about their forming relationship. He moaned with abandon and called out the other teen's name as Heero's thigh pressed against his growing erection then moved to slide his leg effortlessly between his thighs. The mission, his inhibitions and all past reservations flew out the dorm window as his boxers were pulled down from his hips, and then the world, the war, the school and even Relena disappeared completely as Heero's experienced hands urged him to passion's edge and over. Gasping deeply for a breath during the moment of sensory overload, Duo experienced sensations, emotional and physical pleasure that he'd never even imagined he'd be sharing with the other boy. 

Then, when he came back down from that heady place where Heero had taken him, all the things he'd forgotten or tucked away came slamming back home to his conscience. Remorse and self-loathing accompanied his return to the here and now, as well as a deep sense of confusion and loss. Not knowing what else to do or how to handle the overwhelming feelings and thoughts clashing within his mind, he turned into the other boy's body for comfort and hid his face in against his warm neck and quietly cried as Heero held him tightly and murmured words of comfort to him until at last he finally calmed enough to succumb to sleep.

More to come

Author's note. Thanks again to all of you wonderful reviewers. The road of life this week has been fraught with enormous pot holes, and your positive feedback was very welcome and uplifting. Hugs to all of you.


	13. Rumors: Move Like a Butterfly and Stings...

A Grudging Seduction

Bane's Desire

Part 13 - Rumors: Move Like a Butterfly and Sting Like a Bee.

The room was gray with early morning light when Duo woke up and opened his eyes. He lay perfectly motionless for a moment, trying to get his bearings. The warmth of the body he was pressed up against, as well as the arms that folded around his back and the pleasant, masculine scent that filled his nostrils with each indrawn breath, told him it was Heero who held him so securely. And with that knowledge, his mind recalled with sharp and painful clarity the events of the night before and what had transpired between himself and Wing's pilot.

He was mortified, not only by what had happened, but by his loss of control, both physically and emotionally, in front of Heero. He'd always prided himself on his ability to project a persona of being a carefree yet competent person, in control of his own destiny. In reality, he hid his troubled past and his emotional turmoil behind the facade of having a devil-may-care attitude and a practiced through charming smile. Last night he'd come undone, giving Heero a glimpse of his true self, letting him see that sometimes he really didn't have much control over anything, much less himself.

Toying with the idea of sneaking out of bed and the room in order to avoid the awkwardness that was bound to be felt between them when Heero woke up, he quickly discarded the thought. He knew full well that Heero slept like the well-trained soldier that he was, having an almost invisible, mental radar that would wake him up at the slightest disturbance within the area of his hearing. So he lay still for a while longer, contemplating the night before and his loss of control and physical reactions to Heero's touch. He wanted to deny the glaring facts and recent events and cling to the belief that he was a normal, healthy guy who liked girls. He craved normalcy, never having had it, and he had to wonder, with his usual sense of sarcasm, if he had somehow been cursed from his first breath to have misfortune and weirdness as his life-long companions.

He was still contemplating his cursed life when, without thinking, he lifted his hand to rub the crusty matter from his eyes, an after-effect of crying the night before. That memory brought yet another wave of humiliation to him. How could he look Heero in the face after last night? He'd let the other pilot touch him, undress and caress him, then jerk him off. His face grew hot with embarrassment as he recalled calling out Heero's name as he tripped over the edge of orgasmic pleasure.

"Duo?" Heero's voice was soft with concern. "Are you alright?"

The braided teen swallowed down his emotions. "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, his voice sounding thick and groggy.

He found himself rolled over so that Heero was poised above him, and in the dim morning light, he could see worry etched in the stoic pilot's face. "Did I hurt you last night? Was I too rough?"

Duo assumed from Heero's question that he was somehow trying to understand his emotional breakdown after he'd reached his climax by the other boy's hand. "No, Heero. It wasn't you, it's me. I... I don't think I was ready for that yet." He could feel his face heating further with an embarrassed blush.

"You enjoyed it," Heero stated, his face unemotional but the slight crease between his eyes displayed his continued puzzlement.

"I think that was pretty damn obvious," Duo replied in a disgusted tone and brought his hands up to cover his face and hide his shame, avoiding Heero's penetrating gaze. After a few moments of trying to compose himself, he felt Heero's hands on top of his, gently trying to pry them away from his face and eyes.

"Duo, talk to me. I don't understand."

The mission. Remember the mission, Duo told himself, hoping that reminder alone would center him while so many conflicting emotions roiled within his mind and body. As he felt the damn irritating emotions rising yet again to the surface, he realized that his control over them was being worn away by Heero's tender concern. Resisting the force of Heero's hands on his own, he spoke through the heels of his palms. "Don't you get it, Heero? I thought I was straight. Do you have any idea what it's doing to me to find out that I'm not? That everything I believed about myself, who and what I am, is a lie? You know how much I hate lies, and now I find out I am one. Dammit, Heero," he tried to steady his shaky voice but found as he continued that he couldn't. "I wasn't ready. I can't do this right now. Please, just... just let me get my head together."

The strong hands that worked against his own eased off and then lifted completely, but Duo could sense the steady gaze of his fellow pilot turned what, lover? Boyfriend? What the hell was Heero to him any way? And what exactly was he? Straight or gay? 

"Duo, listen to me," Heero began again in a gentle voice, and Duo felt the hair on the top of his head being petted in a manner that was most likely meant to soothe him. "I'm sorry. But I thought because you didn't say no, that you were alright with what we did last night. Maybe you are still straight, still attracted to females. But I would think from your reaction, that you might be bi-sexual. If that is the case, you weren't living a lie. You only found out something new about yourself."

For some reason, that simple re-labeling and rationalization seemed to make the braided teen feel a bit better. He shifted his fingers a bit so he could peek out from between them to look up at his friend, still hovering above him. "Are you bi, Heero?"

An amused smirk came across the Japanese boy's face and he shook his head. "No, I know my preference," he replied with a knowing look on his face.

With a sigh, Duo dropped his hands. "I just can't help feeling weird about this," he said dejectedly.

Heero's eyes studied him for a moment, then he nodded, coming to some inner agreement. "It appears that you do need more time." Their eyes met, and Duo couldn't help but detect a wave of disappoint coming from the other boy as he continued. "Since I took the initiative last night, I'll stand back and wait until you feel you're ready. If, or when you want to resume any physical aspect of this relationship, it will be up to you to make the move. Agreed?"

Duo thought about it for only a moment, feeling a great sense of relief that Heero was leaving the choice up to him. "We're still friends through, right? And you'll promise not to kamikaze on me?"

Heero nodded, and a small twitch of his lips showed Duo he was pleased by the reminder. "And if it won't bother you too much, I'd like to continue sleeping by your side at night, platonically, if you wish. It somehow works to curb the bad dreams."

There was only a moment's hesitation before Duo nodded his agreement. He was still confused and unhappy about his actions the night before, but he had to admit to himself that he'd actually slept very well while pressed against Heero's body.

"It's still early," Heero said with a glance to the bedside table and the alarm clock sitting on top of it. "If we get up now, we'll have time to go over the target's site plans and review the mission's timing before breakfast." 

Duo watched as Heero promptly removed himself from the bed and felt an unusual pang of loss from the missing warmth that had been next to him all night long. He sighed, as he watched the other boy, wearing only his boxers, stretch out his arms and yawn, working loose some tight muscles. He admitted to himself that he could appreciate the strong body Heero possessed, including the sleek muscles that were so incredibly strong and yet so tender when they wanted to be. He put the pillow over his face, hoping to keep himself from staring at his roommate, and appreciated the coolness of the fabric on his heated face. He was definitely confused by what he was feeling and also from the way his body reacted to even the sight of Heero's strong, half-naked body.

With his eyes closed and the sight of Heero successfully blocked, Duo's mind returned to the conversation and agreement he'd made with the other boy moments before, and he realized he'd gotten exactly what he'd wanted all along; an agreement from Heero to not self destruct while keeping himself safe from his fellow pilot's advances. So why was he experiencing a feeling of being let down? He definitely wasn't jumping around, elated by the agreement, and wondered if his lack of excitement was due to the knowledge that he'd disappointed Heero by putting a hold on their growing physical relationship, something Heero had clearly wanted. He knew for certain that he didn't want to hurt the other pilot, but he just couldn't give in or do anything more at the moment. He was just too confused to be making life-changing decisions. He continued for a few moments to analyze and dissect his feelings and recognized the fact that there lingered within him a malaise about the whole situation that nagged at his mind and tugged at his heart. 

The long-haired boy lifted the pillow from off his head and turned his eyes to find Heero once again and thoughtfully tracked his movements as he finished his stretching and walked to his closet. Once there, the messy haired boy removed his neatly hung-up school uniform for the day and set them on his undisturbed bed. 

Thinking of the night before once again, Duo recalled Heero's actions and knew the other boy had been both tender and giving towards him, trying to make his first attempt at male-to-male intimacy an enjoyable one. As the events flashed through his mind, it suddenly dawned on him that while he had been sexually satisfied the night before, Heero hadn't been. He'd broken down into an emotional wreck and hadn't done anything to ease Heero's discomfort as he probably should have. He now clearly recalled the feel of Heero's answering erection through his boxers and resting against his thigh the night before and had mixed feelings about the fact that Heero had ignored his own need in order to comfort him. The mere thought that Heero had considered his needs over his own warmed the braided boy's heart considerably towards Wing's pilot. He continued to openly watch Heero as he began to dress for the day, and felt a sudden need to give him something in return for his kindness towards him during his moment of weakness.

"Heero?" Duo called out softly, causing the other boy to look up from buttoning his white shirt. "I think you were right last night. I was jealous."

A soft smile graced the handsome face of the Japanese teen. "There's no need to be," he replied, then with that pleased grin lingering, he continued with the chore of dressing for the day.

Several days went by with the two pilots slipping into their daily routine as if nothing of an intimate nature had happened between them. They attended classes, interacted with other students while keeping mostly to themselves whenever possible and avoided confrontations with Relena as much as they could.

But the girl was relentless.

"Kazou!" Relena's voice was sharp with disapproval as she angrily approached the dark haired boy at his locker.

With a forced, patient-weary sigh, the dark blue eyes turned to her. "What do you want?" He asked irritably.

"I want to know why you've been avoiding me," she demanded as she planted herself in front of him, her eyes expressing her anger.

"I think the answer would be obvious," he replied with an indifferent tone of voice.

"Why?" she persisted.

"Relena, we've discussed this several times," Heero said, his eyes darting around to see if anyone was listening to their conversation. There was a lot of noise and chatter going on around them so that it didn't seem possible for anyone to casually overhear what they were saying. Nevertheless, he lowered his voice further as he said, "We're on a mission and you're endangering it."

"That's ridiculous," she argued. 

Heero knew it was useless to speak any further to the girl as she could only understand her own point of view and was not open to anyone else's. So instead of continuing on in a redundant debate, he shut his locker door, turned and walked away from her.

He only got about three feet before she latched onto his arm and smiled determinably up at him.

"It almost seems as if you prefer Duo's company to mine," she said with a teasing smile that didn't quite match the serious look in her eyes.

"He's my partner and watches my back," Heero replied, trying to ignore her. If wishes came true, he thought, the girl hanging on his arm would be transported to Neptune where there were no shuttles to bring her back. He didn't really dislike the girl, but she was a danger to the mission as well as to his and Duo's life with her constant interference. He decided to try being patient with her, again, hoping she'd eventually get the hint and leave him alone.

"It amazes me that you seem to prefer the company of someone with a less than desirable background," Relena continued, despite the frostiness in the air between the two young people. "And you seem to have made him your closest friend," she added, her voice remaining in a polite conversational tone. "I've had a background check done on him, you know, and though sketchy, it appears he's led a most undesirable life."

Heero stopped short in the middle of the hallway to glare at her. "Are you judging him as a person because of the colony he grew up on?"

Relena's back stiffened at Heero's accusation. "Surely you know what they say about the people from L-2, Heero. Most of them live on the streets, are uneducated, lawless and lack any form of cleanliness and manners. They're involved in all types of criminal behavior including prostitution, gangs, thievery, murder and rape. The list of abhorrent crimes go on and on for those that live on that colony, and it seems that Duo is no exception to the rule."

Heero gripped the girl's arm and forcefully moved her from the center of the busy corridor to the left side, pinning her uncomfortably to the wall. His eyes bore into her with such intensity that Relena finally got it that he was not pleased by her analysis of L-2 and its citizens. "What exactly are you accusing Duo of?" Heero hissed. 

A little intimidated now by the gundam pilot's reaction to her newfound knowledge, Relena felt a bit reluctant to go on, but the pinched grip on her arm forced her to continue. "My sources traced Duo to an orphanage. He's also on public record as being a street urchin, having lived on the streets before his stay in the orphanage, and he's got a record with the L-2 security force's as a thief and a member of a gang. And some of those unfortunates in his gang were known to be prostitutes. Unofficially, the authorities on that god-forsaken colony believe Duo had something to do with the orphanage he lived in being destroyed by the Alliance. It wasn't clear what part he played in the unfortunate incident, but he's the only one who survived. That's very suspicious, if you ask me. He might have turned them in for something or done some illegal activity that brought the authorities to the hospital the orphanage."

"You don't know anything about Duo other than vague reports and speculation," Heero ground out between his clenched teeth. "I think it would be best for you not to judge someone unless you've lived as they have. L-2 is a far cry from how a pampered daughter of a government official has lived. And I, for one, prefer the company of a so-called 'street urchin' to a princess."

Abruptly letting go of her arm, Heero turned and marched off, leaving Relena standing alone amidst a sea of other students, with a look of disbelief and hurt on her face. Though Heero wasn't aware of it, the slowly the expression on her face changed, and was replaced by eyes that were narrowed with scorn. "We'll see about that, Heero," she muttered under her breath. "I'll show you the difference between my true worth and Duo's." With her head held high she proceeded with practiced poise down the hallway to her next class with a determined look lingering in her eyes.

Duo abruptly stormed into their shared dorm room with a snarl on his face and forcefully slammed the door behind him. "What the hell is she telling them?" he asked his roommate, anger sparking in his narrowed eyes as they focused on the boy squatting down on the floor.

Heero looked up from studying the base plans that were spread out on the floor and calmly answered, "What does it matter? The mission will be over soon and we'll leave a few days after that."

"It matters because they're all looking at me as if I have horns on my head, cloven hooves and a barbed tail. I haven't done anything to deserve that kind of treatment, so I can only guess it's Relena's fault."

Heero absently shrugged one shoulder. "Like I said, it doesn't matter in the long run."

Duo eyed the other boy suspiciously. "You know, don't you? You know and you're not telling me. What the hell is that all about?"

Heero sighed, then turned to look up at the angry boy standing above him. "Someone asked me if I was bothered by sharing my room with a prostitute."

"A what?" The braided teen shouted, his eyes wide with a horrified expression on his face. "Who asked you that? Dammit, I'll pull their tongue right out of their head when I get my hands on them."

"Calm down." Heero's advised, his voice firm and authoritative.

"People shouldn't go around saying things like that about other people," Duo continued as he threw down his backpack and angrily jerked off his blazer and flung it with considerable force onto his bed.

"Who cares what they say," Heero said, standing and moving towards his roommate. 

"I care," Duo snapped back angrily. "You don't know, Heero. You didn't come from where I lived, where turning tricks was one of the last resorts the street people, especially kids, turned to when they got too hungry to care about anything but the pain in their empty bellies. Have you ever been so hungry that a corpse looked tempting as your next meal? Have you any idea how painful it is to starve to death?" The deep blue eyes were anguished looking as the braided boy's demeanor changed from anger to profound sadness. "It's horrible and it's hell," he whispered. "I'd only wish that kind of torture on the leaders of the Alliance so they could really know what the embargos they imposed on L-2 did to my colony's people. I had friends who would do almost anything a john wanted just for the promise of a meal."

Heero studied the braided teen and noted the increase of his respiratory rate, the redness of his cheeks and the excess moisture glittering in his haunted-looking eyes. If what Duo had told him in the past few weeks was correct, Heero knew the American didn't fall into the trap of selling his body for food. "How did you escape that fate, Duo?" He asked, his voice remaining even and without criticism.

The Deathscythe pilot looked Heero in the eye to see no sign of judgment or condemnation in his steady gaze. He shook his head, sadness lining his face and eyes. "The head of our gang of kids, Solo, refused to let any of us to turn tricks," he said and shrugged. "Not that any of us wanted to."

"Then how did you obtain food?"

"Solo," Duo choked on the name and he pursed his lips together in an attempt to gain some control over his emotions before he continued. In a steadier voice he began again. "He was older than the rest of us and my memory tells me he was handsome. He went out at night when things were really bad and the little ones were crying from the pain in their bellies. He always brought back food. When a couple of us discovered him turning tricks, we confronted him. It didn't seem right that he should have to do something that he forbid us from doing. He argued with us that it was better for just one of us to take the risks and humiliation so that the rest could be safe."

A long stretch of silence filled the room before Heero took the last few steps that separated him from the sad-looking boy. Reaching out his hand, he brushed the back of his fingers over Duo's soft, smooth cheek, absently noting the perfection of the other boy's complexion. "It wouldn't have mattered to me if you were one, if you'd had to prostitute yourself in order to survive."

Duo's eyes fixed onto Heero's and a frown formed on his face as he snidely replied, "That's right, some of your best experiences were with prostitutes. Did you ever think about the fact that they might have been forced by circumstances to accept pay from a perverted old geezer to seduce a kid?"

Before he could continue with some more scathing comments, Heero interrupted him by saying, "I knew gentleness and kindness from those who were sent to my room. I never looked on them as anything other than being teachers who taught me what I needed to learn in a compassionate manner that I rarely experienced from anyone else. They became the only pleasant memories I have of my training."

It was like having the air knocked out of him when Duo recognized the sincerity of Heero's words from the look displayed on his face, which had softened considerably. He realized that Heero's training must have been hell in order for him to think fondly of those who had serviced him. "You really wouldn't care, would you, if I'd turned tricks?"

"Would it make you less desirable?" Heero asked with a soft voice, then shook his head in answer to his own question. "Less breathtaking?" His fingers again stroked the soft cheek as he again shook his head. "A less talented pilot, the crack shot or computer whiz that you are?" A small smile graced his face. "No, I like you for who you are, no matter how you got to this point."

Duo had never heard more beautiful words in his life than what his teammate had just said to him. And Heero meant every word, he could see it in the steadfast gaze that was focused on him, probably to gage his reactions. Stepping forward, he threw his arms around the other boy and held his body fast against him. "Thank you, Heero," he said in a strained whisper. "You have no idea how much that means to me." In response, the Wing pilot brought his arms up to firmly encircle the slender body that was pressed tightly against him.

They stood that way for several moments before they simultaneously took a step back from each other. Heero looked at the braided teen and pushed some of the long errant strands of hair back behind one ear. "Don't worry about what rumors might say about you," he spoke quietly. "We both know they're not true and we'll never have to see these people again after we complete our mission."

Duo nodded, still feeling angry about the rumors circulating about him, but he knew Heero was right. "So are we ready for tonight?" he asked.

Heero nodded. "You better get your homework done. In case OZ manages to catch sight of us and comes to the school looking for suspects. We don't want to draw any attention to ourselves with assignments not turned in tomorrow. It's imperative that we act like normal students, fearful of a bad grade reported to our parents."

"Do you ever wish that was our only concern, Heero?" Duo asked, his manner more subdued and thoughtful. "That we had parents to please and that our grades were all that really mattered?"

The Wing pilot paused before nodding his head. "It doesn't change anything, but sometimes I have wished for such things."

Duo suddenly experienced the urge to embrace Heero again, to hold him tightly and to be held in return, sensing there was safety in the other boy's strong arms. The need to connect physically with the other pilot was almost too much to deny. Yet the boy from L-2 forced himself to hold back, recognizing that he was feeling extremely needy at the moment and, having learned from a long line of past hurts and disappointments, his sense of self-preservation fought against him wanting anything as badly as he wanted to be close to Heero at the moment. He managed a nod at the other pilot, offered him a shaky smile, then picked up his backpack and went to his desk, his anger from the circulating rumors diminishing enough for him to do the required school work. 

The city buses in Kyoto stopped running at ten p.m, so the two teens who had successfully snuck out of their dorm room, took a taxi to the sister city, Kasatsu, and had the taxi driver take them to a popular movie theater one mile short of the factory that was their target. They walked the rest of the way carrying their surveillance equipment in their school backpacks and were careful to keep to the shadows as much as possible to avoid any curious eyes that might later be able to identify them. They were grateful that the night wasn't cold and that their light jackets would be enough to keep them warm during the night out. They crossed the bridge that stretched over the tip of the protected bay and made their way to the industrial parkway where Messato, the factory that was their target, was located. 

They hid within the shadows of a neighboring building, behind large shipping crates, and studied the large rectangular, metal structure from a distance, using the night goggles they'd brought to observe the perimeter. Duo took notes, jotting down details and sketching the location of the entrances and windows and listing the more obvious routine security arrangements.

Just before midnight, a group of roughly thirty workers, all dressed in matching orange jumpsuits, approached the building and lingered about the southern entrance. The red-glowing ends of many lit cigarettes moved slowly in the smokers' hands as the employees chatted amiably together while they waited for the shift change. Then precisely at midnight, a loud metallic click was heard from the metal door facing the water and a slew of eager employees, dressed in the same orange jumpsuits, flowed out nosily from the building and as quickly as possible. As soon as the entire group had finished exiting, the midnight shift of workers began to enter, ready to begin their night's work.

The two boys sat close together, crouched down in the shadows while sharing some of their body heat to combat the cool breeze that had come up off the water, as they watched the plant throughout the night. After hours of observing the nocturnal comings and goings of the company's employees, they determined that the four rotating guards, keeping watch on the outside of the building, were definitely OZ soldiers disguised in private security clothing. The most obvious giveaway was their movements, each man bore the posture and comportment that marked them as trained soldiers, and their rotation around the exterior of the plant was on a precise time schedule that followed military standards. 

Duo wrote down the exact time the main door opened, three times in all, allowing the employees out for two breaks and a half hour lunch. Other than that, the only thing of interest was the arrival of a boat at approximately three a.m. It approached the dock slowly, floating on the inky water though the dark of night, its engine powered down with the lights dimmed as it approached the dock adjacent to the plant. The small craft's captain, suspiciously dressed all in black and wearing a beanie over his head, disembarked and secured the boat. Without any formality or greeting with the exterior guards, the man approached the keypad next to the door, entered the security code and disappeared into the guarded factory. 

The boat remained unattended for approximately twenty minutes before the same man exited the factory carrying several large boxes in his arms. He brought them to his boat and promptly set the lot down in the back of it. After watching him make three trips to the factory and back again, each time laden with several boxes, the man jumped into the boat and it instantly rumbled to life again. Then slowly, without any sign of hurry, it floated gently out into the bay to disappear into the darkness.

The two hidden teens looked at each other, exchanging curious glances. "What do you think that was about?" Duo asked.

Heero merely shrugged, then turned back to the night goggles to continue his study of the area surrounding the factory.

At the first hint of the approaching morning light, when the black of night eased into a shade of dark gray, the two teenagers, now chilled from sitting near the waterfront for too long, made their way back to the school and snuck into their dorm room just as other students were beginning to wake up to their new day. They huddled together in Duo's bed and under all the covers available in the room in an effort to warm up. Through the chattering of teeth, they decided that they'd wear warmer clothing when they returned to the target site later that night.

Duo made it through the first two classes of the day without too much difficulty, but when a lecture on the industrialization of ancient Japan droned on, his head found its way to his arms, folded on his desk, and he promptly fell fast asleep. By lunch he'd received two written referrals and was facing at least one after-school detention. He skipped lunch and left the busy corridors to seek his room and ultimately his bed, only to find Heero walking behind him.

"What are you doing?" Wing's pilot asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Taking a nap," Duo mumbled. "I can't keep my eyes open any longer."

"You can't skip class. You'll draw attention and maybe suspicion to yourself."

The braided teen turned with exasperation clearly etched on his tired face. "Kids get sick at school all the time, Heero. It's normal for everyone, I guess, except us. Just tell the nurse that I went to my room with a stomach ache. What are they going to do, put a mark against my perfect attendance record?"

The door to the room was unlocked and Duo withdrew his key and entered their shared living space. Dropping his back pack to the floor and toeing off his shoes, he moved forward and collapsed onto his bed where sleep was well on its way to capturing him.

"You get cranky when you're tired," Heero observed in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Later, Heero." Duo yawned, dismissing the other boy in order to give into his exhaustion.

Heero stood in the same spot for several moments, watching the other boy and noting Duo's breathing as it evened out and slowed. He thought it utterly amazing how quickly the American could fall asleep. Taking a few cautious steps forward, he continued to eye the other pilot, taking in the fact that his trim and slender body looked good in his school uniform. It occurred to Heero that no matter what Duo wore, he always made it is own and managed to look ... appealing, even the strange jodhpur-style pants he wore on missions were strangely attractive on him. He made a mental note to himself to have the braided teen explain his odd choice of mission clothing one day. He continued to study the handsome face, softened now in sleep, and thought to himself that Duo was very attractive, almost beautiful. And despite the issued warnings and caution given by Dr. J and his other trainers at the beginning of the war, to keep himself unattached and emotionally distant regarding his missions and any personal entanglements, he wanted the Deathscythe pilot as a friend and as a lover. And as he looked down upon the unaware and sleeping boy, a surge of affection for him flowed through him. He knew that he wouldn't give up trying to win the Deathscythe pilot until Duo Maxwell was his; heart, body and soul.

He bent at the waist and placed a gentle kiss on the sleeping boy's warm cheek. It was all he would allow himself until Duo took the next step in their relationship, that is if he made it. If he was going to succeed in making Duo Maxwell his lover, he had to move slowly, methodically and with great care for the other boy's confused feelings. For his final goal wasn't just to have Duo as a lover for the short term. No, he had decided while getting to know the attractive, cinnamon-haired teen that he wanted more from Duo than just a war-time lover. He wanted the American as his companion for as long as he continued to exist. He just had to consider carefully what course of action to take in convincing Duo that he wanted the same thing too. Another quick kiss to the other boy's brow, and Heero turned and moved to his own bed, deciding to take a twenty minute nap before going to the head nurse with an excuse for Duo's absence from school.

On going, still....

Notes: Thanks everyone for the reviews. Suggestions noted and appreciated, and really, your enjoyment is mine also. I hope I caught all the errors in this chapter. It's one a.m and I've fallen asleep at the keyboard countless times during the last hour.


	14. Let's Go Down to the River and Pray

See first page for warnings and disclaimer because I'm tired of repeating them

A Grudging Seduction

Bane's Desire

Part 14 - Let's Go Down to the Water and Pray.

That night began almost identical to the previous one. They successfully snuck out of the dorm, took the taxi and walked to the position where they had done their observation of the factory the night before. Together they watched as the night-shift crew arrived and the swing shift left. 

It wasn't until just after three in the morning when the slight burbling sound of a motor in low gear could be heard in the early morning air. Heero nudged his dozing partner, bringing him to attention, and together they watched the approach of a small boat on the water. It's engine was cut a moment before it sidled up to the dock just outside of the factory. Through the night-vision binoculars they watched a man, looking like the same one they'd seen the night before, step out of the boat and tie it up against the dock. He then proceeded to take the short walk to the dock-side entry and once again keyed in the security code, bypassing the security that was stationed around the building's exterior without any gesture or word exchanged.

The two pilots exchanged a look, wondering again who the newcomer was and what the man's presence indicated. Five minutes later, he reappeared, exiting the building with several boxes stacked in his arms. He returned to his boat, climbed onboard and deposited his armload onto the floor, then returned to the dock to untie the rope from the moorings before he jumped back in and started the motor. Slowly, he turned his craft around and made his way back the direction he'd come from.

"A go-between?" Heero asked, his voice low.

"Probably," Duo answered. "I wonder how many nights a week he shows up here? This is the second night in a row. It could be a nightly occurrence."

Heero shrugged. "I don't know, but if he is a regular, then he's our way inside."

Four more nights of surveillance followed. The man in the boat did indeed return each night at precisely the same time, a mistake on the part of OZ, if he was their man. The two pilots used that and other observations they'd gathered to form their plans for getting inside the factory and taking the information required to complete their mission.

The long nights of watching the comings and goings at the Messato plant were followed by torturous days in which both teens struggled to deal with the lack of sleep. They habitually returned to their dorm room two hours before classes, showered, dressed in their uniforms and slept until the very last moment, waking up with just enough time to eat a couple of protein bars, stashed in their backpacks, and get to their first class of the day.

A quick meal was eaten at noontime before they escaped to their room and napped for part of the hour then returned to attend their afternoon classes. Homework was done immediately after their classes ended for the day and they ate their supper with their classmates in the cafeteria to allay any suspicion. Yet as soon as they could, they retired as quickly as possible to their room again where they slept until ten p.m. The one advantage their new and busy schedule brought was that Relena was pretty much absent from their lives, which came as a relief to both pilots.

That relief was short lived, however, when one week after they'd begun their nighttime surveillance, a sharp knock sounded on their door near the hour of eight p.m. Heero was roused from his sleep by the sound and sat up, looking over to Duo to see him rolling over onto his stomach as a result of the disturbance.

Seeing his roommate wasn't going to take care of the problem, Heero reluctantly rose from his bed and went to the door to jerk it open, already irritated, to glare at Relena, her hand raised in preparation of knocking again. She dropped her arm and smiled shyly at the blue eyed boy, ignoring his frosty reception.

"There you are," she began, her eyes sparkling with delight. "I haven't seen you around lately, Heero, and I wondered if you were alright?"

"I'm fine, Relena," he replied coolly.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you in the cafeteria or the common rooms."

"I've been busy," he growled out in exasperation at her presence.

"I was wondering if you would like to go out for an ice cream with me?"

"I'm busy."

She raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Homework?"

Having had enough of her game, the Wing pilot grabbed hold of the girl's left arm, barely noting her yelp of alarm, and pulled her into his room and firmly shut the door. Pushing her against the door, he leaned forward to capture her full attention. "I've told you we're here on a mission," he hissed in a low, acerbic voice. "You need to leave us alone to do what we came here for."

The blue eyes blinked innocently. "I was only trying to be a friend, Heero. I don't understand why you're being so hostile."

"Did you spread the rumors circulating about Duo?" He asked, changing the subject. "That he was a prostitute?"

The slight blush on Relena's cheeks answered the question for him. "I didn't say anything that wasn't true," she replied defensively. "Some of the other students and I were talking and they asked me what I knew about the two of you. I mentioned that 'Clark'," she sneered at the name, then continued, "had come from L-2. I never said he was a prostitute. Someone else must have come up with that. One of the girls knew something of that colony and said a good looking guy like Clark must have used his looks and charms to get off that filthy colony. Someone else must have taken her comment and spread it. You know how rumors in a school start off as nothing and are fueled into a prairie fire."

"He never prostituted himself." Heero hissed, his anger at Relena's nonchalance towards the nasty rumor was transmitted by his grip on her upper arms, causing the girl to wince. "And for you or anyone else to say such a slanderous thing is clearly indicative of a jealous, vindictive and shallow person. Hardly the traits one would expect from a so-called pacifist."

Anger sparked suddenly in the girl's eyes. "How dare you say that to me," she whispered tightly, her body shaking slightly from suppressed anger. "What gives you the right to judge me?"

"Unlike how you judged Duo?" Heero managed to keep his voice down regardless of his anger. "He's my friend and comrade. Your denigrating words hurt him, and in hurting him you hurt me."

"Why would you choose him as a friend over me?" she asked, her own hurt and anger was now displayed on her face. "I.. I care for you, Heero, maybe even love you, yet you choose to associate with someone beneath you. I could give you anything you'd ever want, why don't you want me?"

"Because you're a spoiled little girl who won't look at the bigger picture," he answered with a deep weariness settling in on him at having to deal with the girl yet again. "Listen, Relena," he said more calmly. "I obviously don't have the type of feelings for you that you have for me. You have to accept that. Besides, you can't possibly love me; you don't know anything about me. You could never understand what my life is like; but my fellow pilots do. I choose to associate with them because we are a team. We watch each other's backs and patch each other's wounds. The five of us understand what it takes to do what we must to win this war and how difficult it is sometimes it can be. You can't possibly understand me or what I truly do to love me, Relena. I'll venture a guess that you're simply suffering from a severe case of infatuation."

Relena looked like she'd been slapped in the face. "I know what I feel," she stated with conviction, her hand dramatically placed over her heart. "And I might have some advantages in life due to my parents, Heero, but I've suffered, too. I've lost my father, my mother lost her husband and then I learned that I lost a family that I don't even remember. This war has cost me more than anyone I know."

"What you've lost is a pittance in comparison to what Duo and some of the other pilots have lost. Yet you have no compassion for him or have the decency to acknowledge that he fights selflessly for his colony, for its freedom. Frankly, Relena, you have yet to prove to me that you aren't as self-centered and arrogant as your actions dictate, and until you can overcome those weaknesses, you have no place in my life or in this war. Leave us alone, Relena." His voice warned. "We have a war to win."

"Hey, what's going on?" A sleepy voice from the bed questioned.

Heero turned his body slightly so that Duo could see with his half-open eyes who it was he was talking to. "Relena decided to pay us an impromptu visit."

Duo's eyes shifted from Heero's to the angry looking girl. He then turned to look at the digital clock on his desk that displayed the time as being eight ten. "You woke me up," he stated in an unhappy, complaining voice. "I've got two more hours to sleep, so would you mind keeping it down?" He then turned away from the both of them to face the wall and pulled the pillow out from under him to place it over the top his head.

"We're both tired," Heero stated to the girl, pinching the bridge of his nose to alleviate the dull ache centered there from lack of sleep. "Don't bother us again."

So many emotions and unsettling feelings filled the girl's heart. She was angry at Heero's accusations and feeling guilty because she knew some of what he'd said was true. Remorse was also felt for letting her jealousy of Duo lead her to say some things she now regretted. And still jealously filled the girl's thoughts as she recalled Heero's words of praise in defense of the long-haired American. But above all she felt, it was Relena's sense of regret that was the most prominent of the feelings she was experiencing, and it prompted her to try and make things right. "I'm sorry, Heero," she began, honestly contrite. "I've made some mistakes concerning Duo, and when I came here this evening, I didn't know you were resting. Is there anything other than staying away from you that I can do to help?"

Heero thought a moment, initially wanting to just tell the girl once again to leave them alone, but the practical side of his brain urged him take up her offer and test the sincerity of her apology by allowing her to be of some help to them. "If we fail to turn up for classes for more than a day, I want you to contact one of the other pilots. Tell him when you last saw us, how long we've been missing and that our mission probably went sour. I'll send one of the others an e-mail with the mission particulars so they'll know where to start looking for us."

Relena nodded, looking solemn with the responsibility being given her. "How will I contact them?"

"I'll give you Zero Four's e-mail address. But you must promise to memorize it, then destroy it. It's imperative that it doesn't fall into enemy hands."

The blond girl nodded her head enthusiastically, her face somber. "I promise, Heero." She seemed sincere in her offer to help, and Heero hoped that giving her this task to prove herself and putting his trust in her wouldn't endanger himself, Duo or the other pilots.

Turning to his desk, Heero quickly jotted down Quatre's latest temporary e-mail address and handed it to the girl. "Only send it if we have missed a full day of classes," he reminded her.

"I won't let you down," she told him, just before he ushered her out the door and returned to his bed with the hope of catching a little more sleep.

Dressed all in black with their weapons hidden underneath their clothing and jackets, the two pilots hid in the familiar shadows and alertly eyed the large building they'd studied for over a week. There was a tenseness in the way they held their bodies, knowing that any moment they might need to act.

Then it came, the slow rumbling of the approaching boat's engine that signaled that their mission was about to commence. Moving quickly from their hidden location, the two gundam pilots silently moved according to their pre-determined plan. Duo went around the far perimeter to the north end of the factory, keeping to the shadows with his gun up and ready, the silencer attached, as he sought out the shadows of the two guards on his end of the building. Heero, in the same state of readiness, positioned himself likewise south of the factory, hidden not far from the docks and careful to keep both corner guards within the range of his handgun.

The small water craft drew closer to the dock, signaling both pilots to commence with the next part of their plan. The small, muffled ping of the silencers being shot were lost in the sound of the low rumble of the docking boat's engine. The four bodies fell one by one without a warning cry, and the two teens, hidden by their dark clothing and quick movements, rapidly pulled the guards' bodies out of sight of the boat's captain.

From around the corners, on opposite ends of the building, they watched the man jump out of the boat then lash the boat line to the dock pilings, anchoring the craft in place. The lights of the factory were dim, allowing the pilots to ease themselves around the corners, unseen by the man approaching the lone western door. They observed him keying in the code numbers into the security box to the left of the door, not noticing the lack of guards nor the approach of his own death just moments away. A beep sounded from the security box and the man fished out a set of keys from his pant's pocket. Studying them for a moment, he picked one key out and inserted it into the lock. The door swung open easily for him and he entered, still ignorant of the two silent shadows only a few steps behind him.

Appearing as nothing more than phantoms of the night, the two teens stood poised on both sides of the door, waiting. The minutes passed with tense slowness, but eventually the door did open and Heero sprung forward, immediately grabbing the man carrying boxes, and putting a hand over his protesting mouth he muffled any sound the panicked man made while dragging him and his armful of goods to the darker side of the building. Duo grabbed hold of the closing door before it shut completely and held it open by his fingertips only a scant inch from being completely closed. He waited there, poised and ready for anything until Heero reappeared at his side several minutes later. In his hand there appeared to be a circuit board which he indicated with a curt nod was the one they were looking for. With his eyes shifting towards the door, he signaled that it was time to go inside and get the computer information they needed.

Duo took the lead and soundlessly eased the door open a bit wider and slipped through, knowing Heero was right behind him. His eyes blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the contrast between the dark outside and the brightness inside the factory. From what he could see, the majority of the factory floor was filled with work stations and employees who diligently bent over circuit boards with soldering tools in hand, making final adjustments. On the wall to his left were several darkened offices of which only one had a light on. Through the lit window he could see two men casually conversing with each other.

Keeping low, Duo made his way towards the closest dark office, the noise and the chatter of the work room reassured him that at least the workers were busy and less likely to notice himself or Heero as they made their way along the wall, sometimes in plain view.

The door to the office he chose was locked, but the lock pick lodged in his hair made quick work of it and it opened easily. Duo entered with Heero following on his heels. With the room's light remaining off, Heero used the dim light coming through the lightly tinted window facing the factory to select and turn on the computer and waited while Duo stood guard for the system to boot up and display the main page on the monitor. Kneeling on the plastic floor mat that surrounded the desk, he moved the mouse and quickly searched the files, looking for any information dealing with the circuit boards and what new modifications were being made to combat and destroy the gundams.

A disk was slipped into the proper slot and several more followed as information was transferred to them. Ten minutes later, they were done. Duo, crouched down in front of the door and inched it open, checking to see if the way back to the building's door was clear. With a signal of his hand, indicating it was safe, he slipped out and led the way once more towards the door they'd used to enter the building. They were halfway there when a shout was heard and an alarm sounded, causing chaos to erupt amongst the employees. Several men bearing guns came charging into the room, their eyes scanning the work area while two of them broke away and directed their attention to the offices.

"Go!" Heero hissed, seeing their chance of getting out narrowing. Duo gave him an answering nod and crouching over, gun in hand, he dashed towards the door with Heero just behind him.

"There!" A shout rang out from behind them, alerting both teens that they'd been spotted. 

Duo reached the door and pulled on the knob only to find it immobile. It was locked. He looked up with shocked dismay to see a digital lock to the right of the door that was a separate security system from the set up on the outside of the door. They hadn't planned for this contingency and his gut clenched with the realization that they were screwed.

"Move!" Heero hissed just as the report of a gun echoed in the large metal building and a bullet embedded into the fabricated wall next to his dark head. Duo turned and immediately began to return fire, satisfied to see the soldiers scrambling to find shelter. The Wing pilot took that opportunity to aim his gun at the doorknob and shot at it several times, the metal violently splintering off. Duo felt several shards embed into his arm but didn't let it distract him from firing off another round, keeping the soldiers/security hiding behind the now overturned work tables while Heero worked frantically on the door mechanism.

There was no time for relief to set in when at last the weakened door was kicked open by Wing's pilot for the gunfight was still going on behind him and Duo continued swearing under his breath with each pull on the trigger of his gun. Then despite not knowing what was waiting for them on the outside of the building, the two darkly clad teens flung themselves through the door and ran out into the night. Heero took the lead this time, and as the crack of gunfire sounded behind him, he made a split second decision and ran towards the boat docked to the nearby pier, calling for Duo to follow.

He jumped into the boat while Duo paused on the dock and crouched low to work the knot free of the post. The keys had been left in the ignition and Heero started the boat's motor. He waited until his partner finished untying the boat and threw the rope in. The braided man stumbled clumsily over the boat's edge to hide himself behind the side of the boat.

Heero wasted no time easing away from the dock and ignored the low speed requirements for all boats moving within the bay. He maneuvered the water craft away from the dock and far enough out to fully open the throttle. The engine's gurgling timbre rose dramatically in volume and pitch as the boat swung around in a tight circle then shot out into the dark harbor, away from of the factory's lights, stretching out several dozen feet onto the seemingly black water. Bullets pinged off the side of the boat and into the bay, but did nothing to slow the progress of their escape.

With the wind whipping his hair about his face, Heero tried to focus on the dark waters, leaving the boat's one light off in order to keep their whereabouts uncertain. He kept up the speed for several moments, ignoring the nagging worry he felt about not knowing anything about the bay or how to navigate it. He turned his head briefly to see Duo still on the deck, huddled into a ball. "Are you alright?" he shouted back.

"Took a shot to the arm," Duo replied in an equally loud but pained voice. "I think it's just a scratch."

"Keep down," Heero ordered his partner before turning forward and easing back the throttle slightly and slowed the boat to a more moderate speed. With eyes squinting to make out the area surrounding them, he peered into the black, ink-like surface of the water. They were currently gliding across the surface of the black water of the bay and he thought to himself that it was as void of light as space had ever been. With the motor purring smoothly, he guided them towards a distant light on the other side of the dark stretch of water, hoping for a dock where they could ditch the boat and make their way back to school before sunrise. With any luck they would be on their way to the new safehouse in a day or two, its coordinates having been sent to them the day before by Quatre. 

With the complete darkness surrounding them, brought about by the moonless night which had aided them in making their escape thus far, Heero didn't see the large floating buoy bobbing benignly in the water until it was too late to avoid it. A sickening crash and screech caused by the craft's metal sides abruptly colliding with the metal buoy was barely heard by the two teens who were thrown forward with the impact. Heero's body slammed into the dash board and steering wheel and then fell onto his back in an unconscious heap. Duo, having remained on the back deck of the boat, was also flung forward, but he fell harmlessly onto his side. Unfortunately, it was the side with the wounded arm that hit the deck with considerable force. He almost lost consciousness, and probably would have had it not been for the fact that the cold water from the bay began to flow into the damaged boat and quickly soaked his clothing. Feeling panic begin to set in, he moved forward and grabbed hold of Heero as the water steadily rose and the bell of the buoy clattered loudly in the wake of the crash, announcing to any pursuers exactly where they were. He clutched the unconscious boy to his chest as the water rose and the sarcastic voice in his head whispered that the situation couldn't be any more screwed up than it was at the moment. With teeth chattering from shock and the cold that assaulted his flesh, tightening his muscles and his outer skin with countless goose bumps, he chattered grimly to himself, "Shit, I hope those t..t..t..wo swimming les..s..sons Howard gave me are gon..n..na be enough."

TBC


	15. Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

Warnings and Disclaimers on first page of story

A Grudging Seduction

By: Bane's Desire

Part 15 - Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

Duo gasped with shock as the frigid water steadily worked up his body and now covered his groin and stomach area. He was quickly becoming soaked through, his clothing feeling heavy and uncomfortable. But the chilling sensations brought him back to the fact that he and Heero were in danger and that he needed to act quickly. "Heero!" He called out frantically, shaking the other boy's shoulder. With his hands grasping the other boy, he managed to get his feet out from under himself and pushed through the rising water towards the dipping side of the boat, opposite from where he'd fallen. "Wake up, buddy. Dammit, wake up!" Feeling panicked, he grasped the other boy's shoulders and shook Heero's limp body with both hands, but his partner remained motionless and silent, his head flopping to the side.

The chilly water kept creeping up higher and higher and Duo knew that within a couple of moments the craft was going to be completely submerged. Grasping the other boy's unresponsive body more firmly to himself, he put Heero's back against his chest. Duo then began the struggle to get the both of them up onto the top edge of the boat's sinking side, placing them in the position preparatory to throwing them over the it when it became necessary. He hoped to keep the both of them out of the frigid water for as long as possible.

He swallowed hard with trepidation. He wasn't what anyone would call the best of swimmers. Hell, who was he kidding? He could barely manage what Howard had called a doggy paddle. But dammit, he could float, and he could do it well enough to keep his and Heero's head above water. That was going to be his focus until they were safely on shore once again.

The craft tilted sharply and tipped the edge of the boat Duo was sitting on lower into the water. Hoisting Heero over the edge, the braided teenager was able to gently slip the both of them over the side, gasping again with shock as the cold water enveloped the rest of his body and the sting of the salt water hit the open wound on his upper arm. Reacting immediately, he put his arm around the front of Heero's neck, clasping the shoulder of his jacket and setting his head against his shoulder. He then used both of his feet to push off the submerging side of the boat in an attempt to get both himself and Heero away from the downward pull of the sinking boat.

"Oh shit," he cried out just before his head went under the cold water with the weight of Heero pulling him down. He kicked his feet furiously and brought them both back up to the surface, gasping from the shock of having the cold water on his face and head.

"Come on, Heero," he pleaded in a shaky voice, beginning to feel more than a little panicked as he frantically turned his head around, looking for some kind of assistance. He saw the distant lights on the shoreline and docks that surrounded the bay and, with a sinking heart, realized that they seemed to be very far away. The cold water around him was pitch dark and deep bringing the term "watery grave" to his mind. He hoped that thought wasn't going to be a prediction of his and Heero's immediate future. He continued to kick furiously, trying to keep their faces above the water's surface. "Wake up, Heero," he gasped. "We're going to drown if I have to keep this up for very long." 

As if on cue, Heero coughed and sputtered. A long, low moan came from him even as he began to struggle against the hold around his neck.

"Easy, man. It's me." Duo rushed to assure his teammate, even as his face dipped below the water's surface for a brief moment. He resurfaced, coughing and feeling panicked but then relieved in realizing that he never let go of his grip on the other boy.

"What happened?" Heero asked after his own bout of coughing from a mouthful of water that had gone down the wrong way.

"You crashed us into something," Duo replied, then spat out to the side the mouthful of salt water he'd just inhaled. "Can you swim, Heero? If not, we're in deep shit."

"Deep water, not shit," Heero said in a deadpan voice.

"Hell of a time to develop a sense of humor," Duo snorted, clearly unamused.

"Let me go. I can float on my own now," Heero ordered. Duo promptly and gratefully released him then began treading water on his own.

The water and the night's clouded sky were both dark enough to bring a new fear to the two water-treading teenagers. With so little light set against the blackness, they couldn't see each other but for a vague outline of black against black. "Don't get separated from me," Duo said, slightly panicked.

"Let's see if we can find the buoy, then we can get our bearings," Heero said, and Duo could hear the splashing of water coming from the direction of his partner's voice.

"Heero!" he called, fearful that he was being left behind.

"Here." 

Moving as well as he could, Duo followed the sound of the Wing pilot's voice and using the vaguely recalled arm and leg motions he'd only used only a few times under Howard's tutelage. "Don't leave me," he called out, his voice sounding anxious even as his hands slapped desperately at the water's surface.

"Never," came back the soft reply. The American wasn't sure he really heard or if it was just his hopeful imagination. He kept moving awkwardly towards the direction of Heero's voice, coughing and sputtering as he went. His ungraceful arm movements splashed his face, causing him to swallow even more salt water. He was startled momentarily then relieved when his arm was grabbed and he was pulled forward by his sleeve. 

"You're noisy," Heero hissed, his teeth chattering together. "Don't you know how to swim?"

"No, at least not very well," Duo replied. "L-2 doesn't have swimming pools." He suddenly found himself pulled up against a cold, wet and slimy piece of floating metal. "Oh man, that's gross," he protested at having touched it.

"Reach up," Heero ordered. "There's a handhold just above you."

Duo slapped his hand against the floating metal as he blindly searched for the security Heero said was there. He was still searching when the Wing pilot's hand found his and forcefully brought it up to the handhold that the two of them shared while their bodies rose up and out of the water and plunged down again with the buoy, moving with the natural swells of the ocean's water. Heero reached over and pulled the other pilot's body up against his own and they both shivered violently together from the cold. 

Duo turned his head to view the lights that seemed much too far away, his teeth clashing loudly together from fear as well as the frigid cold. "We're going to die, aren't we, Heero? There's no way we can swim that far."

"We'll have to try or else die from exposure," Heero answered, practical as ever.

"Exposure or drowning, which is the worst way to die?"

"I don't think either is pleasant."

They both spent a few moments quietly contemplating their chances before Heero spoke up again. "Ready?"

Duo groaned. "Do we have to?" He could feel Heero's body, pressed next to his own, shaking just as violently as he was. 

"I'm not one to s..s..sit and wait for d..d...death to come," Heero stuttered.

Duo suddenly remembered his mission. Heero had to live, to see the end of the war. With his encouragement he figured the other boy would try, and knowing the perfect soldier, he would succeed in reaching the far shore. Duo doubted his own chances and ability to accomplish the same feat. "Alright, H..H..Heero." Damn but he was cold. "But I want you k..k..eep going, even if I c..c..an't make it. Deal?"

"Duo," Heero whispered his name, a touch of anxiousness in his voice. Then suddenly his lips were on the American's and the two shared a long, desperate kiss, warming the both of them slightly despite the frigid temperatures of the water that surrounded them. When they separated, gasping for air, Heero put his forehead against the other boy's. "Promise me you'll try," he demanded softly.

"I'll try," Duo replied. "I don't want to die."

"Then kick off your shoes, pull off your jacket and follow me." With that order, Heero gave the trembling teen a quick embrace then bent for a moment to follow his own advice by removing his shoes and then his own jacket. Ready for some movement, he shoved off the edge of the buoy. Duo copied his movements a scant moment later, though less gracefully.

Time seemed to have no meaning in the dark void the American struggled through, but cold and exhaustion certainly did. The braided teen had no idea how long he'd been struggling to keep his head above water. He was only aware of his body moving with repeated arm and leg movements, propelled simply by his strength of will to survive and to not be left behind. He moved forward through the water, constantly aware of the slight sound Heero's body was making as he swum ahead of him. Other than that slight repetitive movement ahead, Duo was becoming oblivious to his other senses. He was numb from the cold and his limbs were heavy and tired. He wanted to call out to Heero for help and reassurance, but he couldn't, his teeth were chattering violently and it would take too much energy to exert himself for even that small task.

In his spent condition, the thought came to him that he'd never imagined himself dying like this, drowning in ocean water and not in the heat of battle. Hell, until he came to earth he couldn't imagine that the great expanse of water, the blue covering most of the Earth's surface that he'd seen from colony portals, was so cold and forbidding.

His head went under again and he began to sink, and he wondered if he should even fight the inevitable any longer. But fight he did; it was almost instinctive as his arms flailed and his legs found some last amount of strength to kick a little more. A hand suddenly clamped onto the top of his head, clamped onto his hair, and pulled him upwards to the surface. He sputtered and coughed as he came out, trying to expel the excess water he'd begun to swallow.

"Don't you dare give up, Duo," Heero called out to him in an urgent manner. "Float on your back and I'll pull you along."

The American found himself being flipped over and pulled onto his back as his lungs heaved for air. The collar of his shirt was then grabbed and Heero's body began the struggle to take the both of them to safety. After several minutes and hearing his partner's labored breathing, Duo knew he needed to do something before they both died. "Let me go, Heero," he gasped, straining to keep his mouth and nose above the water's surface. "We'll both drown if you keep this up. Just let go and save yourself."

Heero didn't bother to answer but saved his strength to carry out his self-appointed task of reaching the distant shore. They struggled some more and then, abruptly, Heero stopped and pulled Duo up next to him, still holding him by the collar and keeping his head above water.

"Wh..a.at?" Duo asked, teeth chattering loudly.

"Brace yourself," was the only warning Heero could make before it became apparent that something was happening below them. The water around them began to swell and glow as an unnatural green light appeared beneath the water's surface and rose slowly towards them. Suddenly their bodies met a solid surface and they were lifted up and out of the water. The two exhausted pilots found themselves sprawled on the dark surface of a submersible craft. Too cold and numb to react, Duo stared uncomprehending as a bright horizontal crack of light lit the darkness just above him and continued to grow until it was the size of a large window. A shadowed figure appeared in the middle of it and suddenly hands were laid roughly upon him and he was pulled none too gently towards the light. 

He momentarily wondered if he had died, but being unceremoniously thrown to the cold floor inside the craft he now realized was a Cancer, dispelled that allusion quickly. Heero's wet and heavy body landing on him a moment later reaffirmed it. Duo was dimly aware that the both of them were quickly and efficiently secured, their numb and exhausted arms and legs were bound by hard plastic restraints while one of the two men piloting the craft held a gun on them.

Not having the strength to talk much less fight back, Duo closed his eyes and concentrated on trying to contain the violent trembling of his body. A blanket was put over him but any warmth it might have offered was thwarted by the cold floor he rested on, and that creeping chill quickly seeped into the wet material of his clothing. He could barely hear Heero breathing beside him as his mind and body shut down and he let himself fade away into unconsciousness.

Duo awoke when he felt himself being lifted and slung over someone's broad shoulder. Opening his eyes, he noted from his upside-down position that they were leaving the water craft that had captured them. Lying limp and appearing unresponsive, he tried to unobtrusively survey his surroundings to see if he could locate Heero as well as get his bearing as to where they were being taken. His efforts were only partially rewarded. He saw another outline of a man just in front of his captor with a body slung over his shoulder that had to be Heero. It was pretty clear that the Cancer had docked and were being transferred to the back of a troop transport truck. Several OZ soldiers stood around them as the two men carrying them walked up a loading ramp, their voices tense and low as they spoke of their fortuitous capture of what appeared to be two of the notorious and dangerous Gundam pilots. Duo closed his eyes and kept his body limp as he was set down on the truck's bed. A moment later he felt Heero being set down as well, close enough for their bodies, covered in wet clothing, to touch. Just knowing that Heero was near was enough to give him some comfort regarding their dire situation.

From the sounds around them, the American could tell that several of the soldiers sat on the benches on each side of the truck, and through his eyelashes he could see the back end of the vehicle as it was closed and secured. The engine was started a moment later and a slight jerk indicated that they were on the move. His body was cold, and he fought hard to control the shaking of it in order to keep the illusion that he was still unconscious. OZ soldiers rarely abused unconscious prisoners, and as he wanted to stay as fit as possible for when he and Heero made their escape, it was important to keep their wrath at bay for as long as possible. Other than low spoken comments that were passed between what he determined to be four men set to guard them, the journey of roughly a half hour passed without incident. 

There was an unusual amount of commotion around the truck once it came to a full stop and the engine was shut off. Voices, excited and angry, could be heard as the back gate of the truck was released and let down. Still feigning unconsciousness, Duo remained limp as he was lifted up and slung over a shoulder once again and was carried out into the cold, early morning air. 

"They're kids!" One amazed sounding voice stated.

"Are you sure they're Gundam pilots?" Another dubious man asked.

"Look at the hair on that kid. Is it a girl or a boy?"

"They're small," a forth voice declared.

"They're deadly," the man holding Duo said. "These two boys killed six people at the Messato factory." He then turned away from the gawkers and moved towards a building in the center of the base.

Still looking through slit eyes, Duo observed another soldier walking just before them and recognized Heero's shaggy-haired head which bounced lifelessly as the soldier carrying him walked with long strides. Worry clenched in his gut for his fellow pilot. He realized that Heero had risked his own life in trying to save him, and Duo set his mind to do whatever was necessary to see the Wing pilot escape to safety. There was no way in hell he was going to let OZ hurt the boy who stood as the principal hope for the colonies.

Not surprisingly, they were carried into a detention area and into a cell lined with metal bars. Duo felt himself being set down on a cot in a surprisingly gentle manner. 

"They're soaking wet. We better strip them," the man closest to him said to his companion. Having ditched his shoes in the bay, Duo felt his sodden socks pulled off his feet and an involuntary shudder went through his body. The man then moved to his belt buckle and quickly unfastened it and went to work on the fly of his pants. In an efficient manner, the soldier pulled them off, Duo's boxers coming off with them.

Duo had every intention of keeping his consciousness from them, but the shock of being stripped caused him to react with an instinctive gasp and he curled his body into a fetal position in an effort to somehow protect himself.

"You awake?" The man above him asked.

Duo's body was now shaking with not only the cold, but with self-righteous anger. He turned to glare up at the buzz-cut soldier studying him with wary eyes. "What the hell are you doing, you pervert?" He shouted in a raspy voice. "Give me my damn clothes back."

The man's eyes narrowed and his mouth thinned. "You're in no position to issue demands, punk." The soldier then proceeded to take out a knife and began to cut off Duo's black shirt, despite the boy's loud protestations and name calling. Making quick work of it, the thin boy from L-2 soon lay naked and in a shivering ball on the bed, hating the idea that a stranger was looking down on his exposed body while he was completely at his mercy.

"Release his bindings and cover him up before he gets sick," the man across the room who was working at removing Heero's clothing called over his shoulder. 

"What do you care?" Duo's handler snapped back. "He's colony scum, doomed to stand before a firing squad." Shortly after, Duo felt a metal tool slip under the plastic around his wrists and, with a snap, they were released. A moment later, a rough blanket was placed over his goose bump-covered skin, not diminishing the chill that had set in his bones.

"That's not our call," the other answered calmly. "They're prisoners of war and the higher ups will want to talk to them. They can't do that if they die from pneumonia."

Duo listened closely as the men made sounds of leaving, and as the door to their cell clanged shut, he could hear their parting comments. "Better call the base doctor," the man who carried Heero said as they exited the room. "Those two are suffering from hypothermia."

The room became silent and still as their voices faded into the distance. Then the overhead lights dimmed considerably, providing only minimal light against the dark. Still shaking, Duo managed to turn himself over, keeping in his protective ball as much as he possibly could, to look in the direction of Heero's cot. His partner was facing him and in a similar condition as himself, only his handler had tucked in the blanket that was covering his body. "Heero?" he whispered, his teeth rattling together.

The other boy's eyelids snapped open to reveal startling blue eyes, their intensity unmatched by any other Duo had ever seen before. "Are you alright?" Heero asked, his voice equally low.

Duo nodded and coughed. "Just freezing my ass off. If they think this puny blanket is going to warm me up, they need their heads examined."

"Come here."

The order startled the Deathscythe pilot just enough to almost stop his body from quaking. "W..w.what?"

Heero's eyes bore into him, demanding that he comply. Unable to resist, Duo struggled to gain his feet and keep his blanket pulled around his chilled, naked body. With small, shuffling steps, he crossed the space that separated them to stand by the other boy's bed, waiting for his next order. Heero opened the front of his blanket. "Climb in," he said, his voice brooking no dissent.

"Um..." The braided teen looked nervously around to make sure they were alone. "What if someone should come in?"

"We're just sharing warmth, Duo," Heero replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "Besides, I'll hear them before they see us. Hurry up, I'm getting cold again."

Moving quickly, Duo lay down on the bed in front of the other pilot, shifting his blanket so that his bare back rested against Heero's chilled chest. The Wing pilot's blanket came over to enfold the both of them so that their sparse warmth could be shared. He then grabbed hold of the loose edge of Duo's blanket and pulled it over them both. Even though Heero had looked fine, pressed close against him, Duo could feel his body shaking as badly as his own. Another deep cough rose from his chest, and it burned his throat and lungs. He figured it was due to all the salt water he'd swallowed and figured his upset stomach was another result of that unavoidable act.

"Take your braid out, it's wet."

Duo did as he was asked, pulling the long, wet rope of hair over his shoulder then settled himself back into Heero's warmth. They lay pressed together in silence, sharing the bit a warmth that was beginning to be produced between them and their two blankets.

"Any ideas on how to get out of here?" Duo asked, his voice barely audible.

"I'm working on it."

"If you get the chance to book it, do it. Don't wait for me."

"You too," Heero answered, his breath warm on Duo's ear.

The thought of the other pilot's naked body pressed up against his own began to heat up the American more than the sparse warmth coming off of Heero's equally chilled body. "Getting warm?" He asked his friend.

"I can think of a better way to warm up." The seductive quality to Heero's whispered answer did not go unnoticed.

"Not the time or place, Heero," Duo reminded him, fighting the urge to cough again.

Heero sighed and nodded his agreement. "Sleep, I'll keep watch."

"You're sure?"

"Sleep."

Duo closed his eyes, letting his exhaustion overtake his better judgement and he fell into a deep sleep.

At seven a.m. sharp, three soldiers brought in trays of food. They paused to survey the two boys sleeping in their separate beds, their bodies wrapped up in the gray, standard issue blankets, and marveled amongst themselves in quiet voices how such small framed and young boys could be the fearsome Gundam pilots. Two soldiers stood with their weapons trained on the unlikely looking terrorists as the third man shook their shoulders to wake them. He gruffly told the silent, glaring boys to eat the food they'd been given and that the base doctor would be by to see them shortly.

Duo's body was racked by a series of coughs while Heero visually inspected their food and gave it a taste test to see if anything had been added. Deciding the food was drug free, the two ate until their plates were clean, then silently resumed their positions on their respective beds, blankets wrapped tightly around their bodies as they waited.

They didn't have to wait long. A trim, middle-aged man wearing dark-rimmed eyeglasses and a white lab coat entered the detention facility and ordered the cell door open. With guns trained on both of them once again, the doctor put on his stethoscope, ready to begin his examination. Because Duo was unable to stifle another cough, he became the man's first patient. His arm, grazed by a bullet the night before, was cleaned and bandaged and he was given an antibiotic injection to ward off an infection and a tetanus shot. The doctor entered the information into his handheld medical device, noting evidence of a previous gun and knife wound to the boy's left thigh and recent healing of the skin on the right side of his body. He also noted the possible onset of bronchitis.

Heero, of course, checked out fine and was given a clean bill of health.

"Will you give us some clothing?" Heero asked the medical man.

"I'll see what I can do," the doctor replied, obviously distracted as he continued inputting data into this handheld P.C. Then without further word, he turned and left the cell. The two guards accompanying the man cautiously backed out behind him, not lowering their weapons until the barred cell door was shut and locked.

Duo waited until they left the area before he looked up to meet Heero's eyes as he slowly massaged the sore spot in his arm where he'd received the injections. The Wing pilot's eyes seemed to draw him in and, for a moment, he found himself lost within deep, fathomless blue. Heero's hand came out from the front fold of his blanket and with a crooked finger, motioned for his cellmate to come to him.

The braided boy didn't even think twice about following the silent but insistent order. Gathering his lone blanket around his naked body, he stood and slowly moved to stand in front of the other pilot. Heero patted the mattress next to him, signaling for Duo to sit. He did so, then looked questioningly at Wing's pilot.

When Heero spoke, he was careful to keep his voice at a whisper. "You broke your promise." The look on his face showed he was serious. 

The cinnamon-colored eyebrows drew together in thought and confusion. "What promise?" He asked, confused.

"You promised not to die unnecessarily, yet you gave up last night and almost drowned."

Duo coughed violently in reply, completely caught off guard by Heero's charge. The other boy attempted to help him by patting him on the back, but the force by which the blows came seemed to aggravate his struggle for a breath. Duo finally turned and grabbed hold of Heero's wrist and stopped the action so that he could catch his breath. "Geeze, Heero. You're going to cause my heart to fly out of my chest by hitting me that hard. Take it easy, it's just a cough. I just swallowed too much salt water last night."

"Sorry." 

Duo thought Heero almost looked embarrassed when he uttered his apology. Almost, but not quite. "I told you I wasn't a great swimmer, Heero. I tried, but I knew I wasn't going to make it. I was just too tired and didn't want to drag you down with me."

"I want your word," Heero demanded in a low voice. "I want you to promise me that you won't give up like that again."

"Dammit, Heero." Duo kept his exasperated voice low. "I'm only human, man. There's only so much I can physically do sometimes."

Heero's hand came out of his blanket and rose to tap the braided teen sharply in the middle of his forehead. "This is where I want you to not give up." He lowered his hand, but his eyes stayed fixed on the other boy's as he continued. "If your mind considers quitting, that you're too tired or you just can't take anymore, then your body will follow through with that thought. I want your word that in your mind you will never give up."

Duo's wide, puzzled eyes took in Heero's serious demeanor. "Why, Heero? Why do you care so much about whether I make it or not?"

The other boy paused, taking his time to answer the American's question. Duo wondered if he were debating within his mind over what to say. "Aside from the point that you are necessary to winning this war," Heero began, his voice low but firm, "would it be sufficient to say that I care enough to want you alive at the end of the conflict? I gave you my word to not self destruct, and I will do my best to live up to that. Shouldn't I expect the same from you in return?"

"Like I told you before," Duo began, "I don't have a death wish. I promise, I'll work on it, okay? But in order to do that, we've got to get out of here."

Heero nodded. "I was just waiting for you to be treated by the doctor. When do you want to leave?"

Duo blinked with surprise at the unexpected question, then a teasing smile grew on his face. "I'd say right now, but I'm a bit under dressed."

"Not a..." 

Heero's reply was halted when the sound of the detention room door opened. Heero stole a look at his companion and said just under his breath, "Don't antagonize or bait them," he warned.

"Spoiled sport," Duo grinned, then dropped the expression as his and Heero's attention turned to observe a man in uniform with three armed guards in tow stop in front of their cell door. The bars on his shirt pocket and shoulder epaulets labeled him as a commander. He was middle-aged with brown hair that was thinning on the top and graying at the temples. He had small, intense eyes, a large nose with a noticeable bump in the middle and a grim smile that made his lips almost disappear as he pursed them together in seeing the Gundam pilots for the first time.

"Even though I'd heard rumors that the Gundam pilots were young, you're a bit of a disappointment to look at," he stated, eying the two on the bed, looking small and young wrapped in their gray blankets. "Nothing more than children in appearance. But we've certainly learned that you're anything but normal teenagers, aren't you? My own kids would never have thought of killing the people you've murdered or destroying the property and lives that are attributed to you."

"Did your kids grow up orphaned by the Alliance and left homeless?" Duo asked, anger blazing in his eyes as he challenged the man. "Did they go hungry for days on end because of the government's blockade or eat other people's garbage in order to survive. Did they see everyone they knew die of a plague because of limited vaccinations, medicine that only went to supporters of the Alliance? Until you've lived as I have, you have no right to compare me with 'normal' children."

"Where are you from, boy? The man asked, looking directly at the braided teen.

"The colonies." That was all Duo was going to tell the man. He didn't want to bring any more retribution onto his hell-hole of a colony than they'd already experienced because of his actions.

"From your dialect I'd guess you're from the L-2 sector. What's your name?"

For a dramatic effect, Duo lowered his chin and glared at the man through his disheveled hair hanging over his face. In a low voice, he replied, "Shinigami." 

The man did not look pleased. "I suppose it doesn't matter who you are or where you came from," he stated. "I've contacted my superiors and they are sending a specialized team to deal with you two and they should be here this evening. We've collected the stolen information from your clothing and that's enough evidence to have you tried and convicted as terrorists. Your killing sprees and lives are over." The smug look on the man's face clearly displayed his sense of pride at having his name attached to capturing the elusive and deadly gundam pilots.

Duo intended to snap a barbed retort back at the man or comment to the fact that the fat lady hadn't sung over their dead bodies yet, but Heero's sudden and firm grip on his arm through the blanket warned him to hold back. The action did not go unnoticed and brought the commander's attention to the dark haired teen.

"What about you?" he asked Heero. "Care to tell me your name and where you're from?"

The glare that came from Heero basically told the man the ridiculousness of his question. "Very well," he said. "No doubt you'll be saying a lot more to Lady Une's handpicked team. Until this evening then." The man turned to leave the room, easily dismissing them. It was then that the look exchanged between three gun-toting soldiers behind the commander was noted by the two. Slowly, the three turned to give their two captives a silent, telling glare, notifying them that this was not the end of it. Duo felt the hair rising on the back of his neck, a clear warning sign that the three would probably be back before long, and when they returned, it was not going to be pleasant.

As soon as the four left the room, Heero turned to his teammate. "Despite our lack of clothing, we need to be gone from here before that team arrives."

Duo nodded, his seriousness matching Heero's. Then he reached up into his braid, mentally wincing at the sorry state of his hair as his fingers worked through the woven strands. A slight smile lit his face as he pulled out several small, narrow tools. "Do you want to do the honors or should I?"

"Go ahead," Heero replied with a nod towards the cell's door.

Standing, Duo took the blanket from off his shoulders and wrapped it around his waist and secured it by tucking it in. He moved to the cell door and began to study the lock mechanism. It would be a lot easier if he had the control box in front of him, but he'd picked his way out of a lot of tough situations before, he supposed he could do it again.

After ten minutes of working, he broke out in a nervous sweat, and the chill in the room acting against it shot a violent shiver through his body, bringing his suppressed cough to the surface. "This is a high quality lock," he muttered, knowing Heero would pick up every word.

"Need help?"

"Give me five more minutes." Duo went back work. But the five minutes requested became a moot point when the door at the end of the short hallway opened and the sound of several booted feet approached. Duo scrambled back to his bunk, and waited to see what was about to happen. Neither teen was too surprised to see it was the three guards that had been there with the commander not fifteen minutes before. One of them carried in two trays of food, which he set on the floor behind them, then the three turned to face the prisoners with expressions of hate and vengeance on their faces.

One of the three reached out and punched in the code that unlocked the cell door. The metal snapping back of the locking mechanism echoed loudly in the nearly-empty detention room. The three soldiers looked similar to each other in their matching fatigues and angry scowls as they entered the cell together looking bold and aggressive. The two behind the apparent leader raised their guns, one trained on each of the pilots. With a disdainful look, the designated leader addressed the two teens. "Those were our friends you killed last night at the factory and we're here to do what they can't."

Duo chanced a quick look at Heero, seeing the Wing pilot's eyes focused on the man addressing them. Maybe if he could distract them, Heero could take them down and they could escape out the cell door that he noticed they'd neglected to close behind them. With that plan in mind, he returned his attention to not only the man taking the lead, but the one with the gun trained on him.

"We have rights, you know." He addressed the apparent leader. "I don't think your higher ups would appreciate you mishandling prisoners of war."

The man turned his angry eyes to the braided teen. "From the reports filed this morning, we picked you up half-dead. Who's going to say you didn't die of your wounds?"

"The doctor and the commander," Duo replied. "Will they really sit back and lie to the 'specialized team' that's coming, especially when they find out you ignored his orders? Your pencil-neck commander was practically gloating from the honor he thinks he'll get from handing us over."

"Even if we're court marshaled, it will be worth it to put an end to you colony scum," the man in the lead snapped in reply.

Duo stood, quickly securing his blanket a bit in place around his hips and cautiously backed away from the three men and towards the wall on the opposite side of the room from the cell door. He hoped to draw their attention to him, giving Heero, still sitting on his bed with a cagey look in his eyes, a chance to act. Putting his hands up in a defensive posture, he awaited for the attack to begin. He wasn't disappointed.

Seeing the challenge, the leader lunged towards the slender youth. Duo twisted and brought his fist up, catching the attacking man in the jaw just as a large hand grabbed for his body. The man stumbled at the blow, but quickly caught his feet and tried again. Duo was quick, despite his arms and legs feeling like rubber from their exertion the night before but with so little room to maneuver, he knew he was definitely at a disadvantage. His attempts to dodge and elude the man's fists lasted roughly thirty seconds before he was grabbed by his wounded arm and the close body contact fight began. He gave as good as he got for a while, his street smarts instinctively coming into play. His kicks and punches were delivered with as much power as he could muster, but the man he was fighting was in top physical condition. He felt his strength rapidly leaving him. He aimed the strongest blows he could manage to the man's trunk and face and Duo thought his efforts seemed to be having some affect on the other man. But dammit, the bastard remained on his feet and kept fighting back, returning each painful blow he received from the smaller teenager.

The heavy blanket was hampering Duo's movements and was getting in his way. Out of desperation, he made a split-second decision. Waiting only until his opponent made a move towards him once again, Duo flung the woolen gray fabric from off his hips and into his attacker's face, deciding his modesty needed to be sacrificed if he and Heero had a chance of escaping. As the soldier dealt with the unexpected material over his face, Duo jumped into position, setting himself directly in front of his attacker and forcefully brought his knee up, strategically hitting the man in the groin, causing him to pause in his attack with a loud gasp. He then turned slightly and bent over, presenting the opportunity for an upper-cut hit to his face. The moment his hand blurred into action, Duo saw from out of the corner of his eye that Heero was making his move. The Wing pilot catapulted with surprising force out of his own blanket and from off his bed and grabbed for the gun held in the tight grip of the man closest to him. The third man shouted with alarm at the confusion, his gun poised to shoot Heero, but he was unable to get clear shot as the struggle over the other soldier's weapon continued. 

While Duo's hurting opponent turned to see what the commotion behind him was all about, the American jumped on his back, quickly wrapping his meter long braid around the man's thick neck and pulled on it for all he was worth. The man underneath him had the presence of mind to spin around, putting Duo's back into a vulnerable position. The butt of the third soldier's gun came down and hit the naked, braided youth on the back of his head. His arms and legs immediately went slack and he fell bonelessly from off his opponent to ungracefully hit the floor, barely registering the shouting of angry voices and the commotion within the cell as he faded into unconsciousness.

TBC

Note: Sorry this took so long to get out this week. My computer bellied up to a virus. May all writers of viruses find themselves in a special kind of hell, where the only thing they can do for an eternity is to sit with nothing more complicated in front of them than knitting needles or a crochet hook, and with yarn that constantly tangles! Grrrrr. Thank heavens I saved my current and future stories to disks the night before and that I had a new computer waiting in its box and ready to be set up. Without those two things happening, this story would probably have gone unfinished. Thanks, Aphrael, for helping this fic become more presentable.


	16. Lost and Found

Disclaimer and warnings on fist page of story

A Grudging Seduction

By: Bane's Desire 

Part 16 - Lost and Found

The throbbing in his head was the first thing Duo sensed as consciousness returned, followed by the knowledge that he was pinned down. He lay still, resisting the urge to moan as he stretched his senses out to get a grasp of the situation. It was quiet and he was still too damn cold. Remembering that he had fought without a stitch of clothing on, he tried to discern whether or not he was in the same bare state. There was definitely a blanket over his body and the roughness of it indicated that he was indeed naked beneath it.

Heero. 

His breath caught in his throat as his thoughts turned to his partner. Did he get out? Was he hurt? He supposed he'd only learn the answers to his questions when he quit playing that he was sleeping. Opening his eyes, he blinked to clear his vision and saw a stark white ceiling above him. With a turn of his head he realized he was in the same cell as before, the only difference being that he was alone. The blanket that Heero had worn lay on the other bed, in the same position from where the other boy left it when he'd attacked the soldier nearest him during their desperate attempt to escape.

His head and eyes turned up to see his wrists were handcuffed to the metal railing of his bed. There wasn't and easy way that he could pick the locks, but maybe if he dislocated his thumb he could slip his wrist out of the restraint and then unlock the other cuff.

"I see you're awake." The doctor he'd met earlier that morning spoke to him from behind the cell door. Keying the commands, the lock opened and the man entered the cell seemingly without fear.

"Where's 01?" Duo asked.

"The other boy?" the doctor asked, then shook his head and frowned deeply. "The commander will tell you what he wants you to know." 

Fine, Duo thought. Two people can play the silent game. He clamped his mouth shut and glared at the man.

"Are you warm enough?"

Duo set his chin stubbornly, not willing to give the man the satisfaction of an answer. He figured that if the idiot couldn't see the goose bumps on his arms he was too stupid to be acknowledged.

After studying him for a moment, the doctor went to the other bed, retrieved the blanket, brought it over and placed it on top of him. 

"No need for you to be more uncomfortable than you already are," the man said, his voice and face neutral. He brought out his stethoscope, put it in place in his ears, and pulled down the blankets just enough to listen to his patient's heart and then his lungs. Duo refused to look at the man and pressed his lips firmly together when he was asked how he felt and refused to cough or open his mouth when asked. With a dissatisfied sigh, the man gave up and left the room. The braided teen's thoughts were then free to turn back to worrying about his partner again. After a few minutes he decided that worrying would get him no where, he put his mind to work on how to get out of the situation he now found himself in.

Ten minutes later the base commander stood at his cell door, his forehead furrowed deeply with displeasure as he unlocked and entered the cell room. He paused as he glared down at the boy handcuffed into place, formulating his thoughts and emotions before speaking. He cleared his throat and said, "It's unfortunate that my men decided to act against my orders," he began, not sounding particularly apologetic. "But more unfortunate for your friend who decided to make a break for his freedom. It cost him his life and me the chance to turn him over alive for questioning." He then smiled balefully, causing a chill to go up Duo's spine that had nothing to do with being cold. "But I still have you, don't I?"

The sudden pain that shot through Duo's heart at the man's announcement almost caused the American's facial mask to slip and show his emotions, but seeing the OZ commander standing above him and studying his face for a reaction, he held it in check.

The commander continued. "He got as far as the foyer before he attacked a soldier and was spotted by another guard out front. He was shot repeatedly as he exited the building. If it's any consolation, it took eight bullets before he went down." The man spoke in a cool voice, his manner detached as Duo's stomach rebelled at the idea of Heero being dead. "What the hell do they feed you colony brats to make you so damn tough?"

"Hardship and pain," Duo replied angrily. "It's our steady diet."

The commander sighed with impatience and looked at his watch. "Only a couple more hours and my responsibility for you ends. As far as I'm concerned, it can't come a moment too soon," he added with a frown. "I'm afraid if you're hungry or have to use the bathroom facilities, you're going to have to wait until they arrive. I won't be taking any more chances with you." With that said, the commander then turned to leave.

"Yet another denial of simple human rights and necessities." Duo spat out in anger. "OZ is no different from the Alliance. Same horse, just a different color."

The man's steps paused and his body stiffened at the insult, his back to the boy. Then after a brief moment, the commander proceeded out of the cell without turning or giving the boy a reply as he shut the cell door firmly behind him.

The hours of waiting until the expected arrival of the specialized team seemed to go by painstakingly slow for the American, especially with his body fastened to the bed and his arms prickling from the numbness caused by their uncomfortable position over his head. While he lay there, Duo repeated in his mind the information the man had given him. He determined that he must have been out of it for quite a while after he'd been knocked out. He'd heard nothing of Heero's attempted to escape other than seeing him fighting with the other soldier and the yelling in the room as he lost consciousness. If the commander could be believed, his friend had been shot down in his attempt and was dead. 

In his mind, he could picture the scene the commander had related to him. The vision of Heero falling to eight bullets brought with it an overwhelming feeling of grief and pain that began in his chest and seemed to spread throughout his body and mind. He cursed his handcuff and jailers, wanting nothing more than to curl up on his side and scream at the unfairness of Heero's death. 

Heero. Just thinking about the other boy caused him to swallow down a choking sob. As far as Duo was concerned, Wing's pilot the best of them all, the hope of the colonies and their unspoken leader... and he was gone. Moisture began to prick at his eyes and he valiantly fought to contain it from spilling over to form tears. He couldn't give into his grief and appear weak in front of the enemy. For all he knew there might be a hidden camera focused on him, watching his every move and response. 

While suppressing his grief, Duo's thoughts circled round and round in his head, coming up with the conclusion that he'd was a miserable failure. His mission had been to keep Heero from dying, and he'd botched it big time. God help us, he silently prayed, yet not quite sure what he was looking to deity to do in helping with the situation. He kept his eyes focused on ceiling above him until his vision grew too blurred to see anything. He then closed them, his mind frantically going over his immediate circumstances. What were they going to do now? He was in OZ's hands, his fate uncertain and Heero was dead. He didn't know if the other three gundams pilots could win the war by themselves, but he knew without a doubt that even with Heero and himself having been taken out of the picture, the other's would fight to the bitter end.

No! He firmly scolded himself, stopping that train of thought. He wouldn't think in negative terms. One of the last things Heero had said to him was to believe that he would survive, not to let his mind doubt his goal and give up. He would honor Heero by escaping, and he would add yet another reason for his vengeance against those who persecuted the colonies to his already long list of reasons for fighting.

With blurred vision, he looked up to his right hand, caught up in cuffs above his head. He concentrated for a moment, willing himself to put his grief over Heero's death on the back burner until he had time to grieve privately. He pulled his thumb forward and then down, his body flinching slightly at the pain as he pulled his thumb out of its socket. He'd done this several times before when he'd found himself in a tight spot, but practice didn't diminish the fact that it hurt like hell to pull a dislocated thumb through a tight metal cuff. 

A short time later and with a bruised, scraped hand, his right arm was free. Duo reached back to his messy braid and searched through the thickest part to find his picks. His fingers paused with a feeling of disbelief. Not finding anything, he began to systematically search one-handed through his braid for the stiff objects he'd always hidden in his hair. Nothing, he thought with dismay. They were gone. He looked up to his other hand and grimaced at the idea of repeating the painful process of freeing it, but at that point in time there was no other alternative. He was set on escaping his cell and getting the hell out of there before the arrival of the specialized team.

Two minutes later saw the pilot of Deathscythe sitting up on the bed and rubbing his sore hands after popping the two thumb joints back into place. His long hair was free of its braid and fell lazily down his back. Wrapping one of the blankets around his shoulders, he approached the cell door and began to study it, trying to figure out how he could get it open. He knew, after only a few moments had passed, that without his tools he would never be able to break open the lock. The frustration he felt at that realization, along with the grief he experienced from losing Heero had built up until he couldn't think rationally, and unwanted tears began to fall from his anguished, red-rimmed eyes. 

He covered his face with both aching hands only to find the image of Heero implanted in his mind's eye. Along with the haunting picture of Wing's pilot in action, he mentally replayed Heero's attempts to woo him, of the sweet, chaste kisses that turned fiercely amorous and of Heero's touch that had sent his pulse racing. All those memories produced an painful ache in his heart and caused his throat to tighten. 

He should be angry instead of sad, he thought. Heero's importance to him and his passing had caused the orphan from L-2 to re-visit those feelings he'd never wanted to feel again: the crushing pain of grief and loss. It was almost unbearable. An overwhelming feeling of regret filled him for what had and hadn't happened between Heero and himself. If he had to do it all over again, he'd give into Heero's advances and offer him the affection and devotion he desired without second guessing himself. But there were no do-overs, no future for Heero Yuy, the kid soldier from Colony L-1. He was now destined to be yet another haunting memory in his mind, becoming one more person in his mental shrine that he'd dedicated to his deceased loved ones killed before their time. With a stifled sob, he suddenly realized how much the other teen had come to mean to him and that this revelation had, unfortunately, come much too late. 

Despite his determination not to cry, his body shook with the emotions he struggled to suppress over the what-might-have-beens that were running through his grief-stricken mind.

After a few moments of allowing himself time to grieve, the American pulled himself together as an icy resolve took over and a look of determination formed on his face. He was going to escape and exact his revenge. He would once again become Shinigami and destroy his enemies because they'd made him feel this way again. With the palm of his hands he harshly brushed away the moisture that wet his cheeks and considered his options. Whatever he could do to escape, he'd do it in order to prevent OZ from keeping him prisoner. His mind re-worked the possibilities, and putting thought into action, he flipped the mattress from off his bed and set to work.

Duo knees and hands ached as he continued to focus his full attention on the locking mechanism on his cell door even as the light outside the barred window darkened. His fingers ached as he worked with the wire he'd pulled free from the bed frame. He'd been left alone for the remainder of the day with OZ believing he was either too dangerous to be checked on or that he was secured enough that they needn't bother.

The click of the door of holding the cells signaled his time for escape was nearing an end. He rose on shaky legs and scrambled back towards his bed, now put back in order, and sat down on it. There was no need to hide the fact that he'd slipped the handcuffs off; he'd let them spend time wondering how he'd done it, but he did wrap the blankets around himself, hoping to maintain some modesty. One blanket was tucked around his hips and legs and the other over his shoulders.

He looked up to see five men dressed in standard khaki-colored uniforms that signified OZ on the Earth's sphere. Looking at a piece of paper in his hand, one of the men keyed in numbers, unlocking the cell door. All five entered. Two of the men carried guns in their hands and another two were armed with long metal poles with rubber grips on the handles, their fingers poised above a red button. The man in the lead position was tall, powerfully built and had black hair and a thin mustache on his lean, angular face. He walked into the cell with an air of authority and confidence that Duo had come to attribute to being a typical OZ leader.

"Quite a prize we have today, fellas," the lead man said to the four behind him while never taking his eyes off the long-haired boy. "We have the notorious pilot 02. We've been looking forward to getting our hands on you for a long while now, kid, and now the party begins."

Duo refused to cringe or back away like a frightened child. He faced the man coming towards him giving him a steady glare that stayed intact until he was abruptly and without warning, backhanded across the face, his head whipping to the side with the force of the blow. His eyes watered in reaction to the pain, but slowly, he turned to face his attacker again, his eyes blazing hatred.

"Not so tough now are you, little boy? Without your Gundam, you're just a child." Another sudden yet solid blow to his head sent his mind reeling.

"Is this violence really necessary?" The familiar voice of the doctor broke through the tense atmosphere of the cell room.

"Did you see what he did to those guards at the Messato plant?" the leader asked angrily.

"I did," the doctor replied from outside the cell. "But they were at least quick kills, they were not tortured. There are conventions of war we must adhere to," he reminded the man who was obviously in charge.

"Just mind your business, old man," the soldier standing over Duo snarled derisively. "We're trained to handle these five kids and we'll do our job within the parameters of our orders."

Duo had thick saliva pooling in his mouth and the taste similar to copper, which meant his lip or inner cheek was bleeding, he couldn't tell which because his entire mouth stung from the heavy-handed blows. He spit the offensive liquid out and onto the floor, then looked up at the arrogantly smirking man towering above him once again, readying himself for the next hit and hoping it might knock him out and make him forget about his loss that day.

"Now let's see, where were we?" the man mocked him as the four standing behind him chuckled darkly. Despite his attempt at dodging the blow, the soldier's hand fell once again against the Duo's face, almost succeeding into knocking the boy over. Then grabbing hold of the teenager's arm, he hauled the wounded boy up to his feet, ignoring the blanket over his shoulders that fell to the floor as he planted his fist into the American's unprotected stomach. Duo retaliated by trying to hit back with hand and foot blows that seemed all too ineffective when deflected by the trained ebony haired man.

After several minutes of hand-to-hand fighting, Duo coughed and spat out more blood-tainted saliva and readied himself for the next attack as well as he could on unsteady legs. The man beating the crap out of him had received only minimal damage from his own attempts to strike back, while he was breathing heavily and his entire body was in a cold sweat and in pain from the thorough beating. His only satisfaction was seeing one of the man's dark eyes was red and swelling and a trickle of blood was dripping from his nose. 

In a moment of clarity, Duo realized he hadn't been asked any questions and that there had be no tirades about the killing and damage attributed to him or the gundams in general. It was suddenly clear that these men were focused solely on causing him bodily harm, not gaining information or revenge. He looked up at his attacker to see the man still wearing a satisfied smirk, absently rubbing the knuckles of his right hand that had been having a good work out.

"If you'll just stay down the next time I knock you down, I'll stop... for a while," he said condescendingly.

Duo thought darkly that the only way he'd stay down was if he was knocked unconscious or dead. He wouldn't give the arrogant son of a bitch the satisfaction of taking the easy way out. Despite his pained body, he straightened himself and stood poised, ready for the next attack. He felt a bit distracted by the blanket slipping from around his waist, but decided to let it go. He'd have more mobility if his legs were free anyway.

The man shook his head, his nefarious grin still in place. "Well, I'm happy to accommodate you," he said in reply to Duo's stance, then flew into action.

The blanket fell from his hips and Duo used his new freedom to full advantage and leapt, landing a blow to the man's stomach with one foot, then dropped and with a quick spin, attempting to knock his assailant's legs out from under him. His plan was stymied by having his ankle grabbed and twisted, flipping him to land with a loud smack that echoed slightly in the cell as his bare flesh slammed hard onto the cold linoleum floor. He kicked and squirmed, trying to loosen the hold, but the grip was painful as his bones in his ankle were ground together.

"I've had enough," the man fighting him suddenly announced in a grim voice. "Hit his legs."

Frantic as to what that meant, Duo turned his head to see the two men with the metal rods approach him, the cold metal poles hit the back of his thighs and then with twin clicks sounding as the buttons were pushed, dual jolts of electricity shocked his limbs, making his body spasm as it coursed through him. He was only vaguely aware that he involuntarily screamed from the pain. Then suddenly it was gone, though the numbness and pain lingered. Duo lay on his belly gasping for air as tears stung his eyes. He was horrified to find his legs were completely numb and useless to him.

"As you've probably figured out, his whole exercise was to render you incapable of trying to escape," his main attacker said in a blase voice. "We know from past experiences that you pilots will go to extreme measures whether in battle, gaining information or trying to escape, to get what you want. This just ensures that we safely transport you to Moscow without any trouble or attempt by you to escape."

Duo closed his eyes in defeat. What could he say? The man had done his job well. The lower half of his body was numb and completely useless and his upper body was beaten so thoroughly that he doubted he could move. He let go, willing the approaching darkness to ensnare him. But as he found himself at the edge of unconsciousness, he heard a distant siren go off, and then another one followed a moment later.

"What the hell is going on?" the lead haired man growled out.

"I'll find out," one of the other men answered, and the sound of footsteps signaled that he left the cell rapidly.

Feeling his arm grabbed, Duo offered no resistance as he was pulled up by rough hands from the floor. He wasn't able to stifle the moan that escaped his lips at the overwhelming pain the movement brought. With guilt he hoped that he'd soon slip into a state of oblivion in order to escape the reality of what was happening to him.

In the distance he thought he heard yelling and guns being fired. Rapit footsteps came again and an anxious voice hissed. "It's a Gundam!"

"Shit!" The leader swore. "Help me get this kid wrapped up in the blankets. We can try to make a run for the transport."

With his eyes closed, Duo vaguely wondered who was attacking the base. Heero was dead, he thought numbly, so it couldn't be him. Maybe Relena had contacted Quatre earlier than requested and he had traced them to this base and was attempting a rescue. Too late, he thought glumly to himself, and his chest tightened with his grief. Heero was dead, the rescue was too late.

He couldn't feel much, his body being numb from the waist down and the upper half hurt too much from the beating to distinguish if one area hurt more than any other, but he was somewhat aware that he was being placed on the floor again and that the rough blankets were being wrapped around his naked, limp and battered body. He found it disconcerting that even his head was being covered up, but couldn't do a thing to prevent it. 

Before his mummied-wrapped body was picked up to leave the cell, a loud, terrible and grating sound, like that of metal being ripped apart and shredded, rent the air. The men surrounding him shouted in fear and alarm as small unseen objects hit his blanket-wrapped body. Duo dimly noted that hands touching him were suddenly gone and he sensed that he'd been abandoned, probably left behind looking like a rolled-up rug, he thought and would have laughed at the mental picture if it wouldn't have hurt. 

The floor beneath him trembled as he felt something slam into the its surface not far from where he lay. Then something large and cold began pushing his trapped body around, as if testing to see what lay within the confines of the blankets. He moaned as the pain caused by the movement became almost unbearable and inched him even closer to the welcoming darkness as he continued to hover at the brink of consciousness. The surface beneath him shifted as he felt himself being lifted up along with the flooring. He could feel the objects on either side of him being pushed away as well as the linoleum he'd been laying on as he was settled onto something solid, cold and unyielding. The sensation of being lifted higher into the air was felt along with an enveloping cold that seeped through his blankets. He knew without a doubt that he was being held in a gundam's protective hand, even before the fingers of that hand wrapped around him, sheltering him like a cocoon. 

His body began to tremble and he knew it was from a combination of being in shock, cold and feeling relief at being rescued. He smiled at feeling the familiar vibration of the unidentified gundam as it powering up seconds before it bolted into the sky, leaving behind the base and OZ pathetically firing their useless weapons at after it. The sudden pull of g's on his battered body quickly brought him over the edge into unconsciousness, a state in which he remained throughout the flight in the unknown gundam's hand. 

Through layers of darkness, pain and the approach of haunting memories, Duo felt himself being drawn out of the numbing voided he'd been in by a welcomed and enveloping warmth. He felt as if he were immersed and surrounded by heat as it slowly permeated the cold that went much deeper inside of him than just his bones. It was a most otherworldly feeling he was experiencing as he balanced on the borders of a dream-like state and reality. 

As he edged closer to wakefulness, his body stirred of it's own accord. His mind registering that his legs felt odd, numb and rubbery as he tried to move them. The muscles in his thighs twitched oddly and ached fiercely. He dimly wondered why his body felt both heavy and yet weightless, and it seemed as if he were floating in the warmth that surrounded him. That warmth strangely comforted him. He wondered for a moment if what he was feeling was anything like what a baby experienced in its mother's womb: being secure, protected and safe.

That feeling fell away much too quickly as his memories came back in a rush. He remembered now; Heero was gone. That painful memory accompanied mental clarity. He realized that he was partially submerged in warm water and that someone was behind him and there were arms that came around his body from under his arms, keeping his face just above the water's edge.

Panic ensued with that new knowledge and his heart began to pound furiously. He wondered if he was going to undergo some weird form of OZ torture. Maybe they would hold his head under water, and that idea terrified him after his experience just a few nights ago when he and Heero had crashed a boat into a buoy. Acting instinctively, he suddenly lunged forward in an attempt to escape his captor. His blurred eyes snapped open to see that he was in an enormous white bathroom with mirrors all around the large bathtub he was sitting in as the hands behind him grappled for purchase on his wet body.

"Duo." 

His heart rose up and seemed to get stuck in his throat as he recognized the voice coming from behind him. With stunned disbelief he turned to look over his shoulder. Through moisture-filled eyes he saw Heero, his chest bare as he sat at the back of the bathtub looking healthy and whole. Without thinking, Duo threw himself against the Wing pilot's chest, ignoring the large splash of water that he caused, soaking their faces and slapping over the top edge of the bathtub onto the tiled floor. Wrapping his arms around the other teen's neck, the American held tightly to the boy he thought he'd lost, fearful the body he was holding might be an apparition that could slip away.

"Shh," Heero soothed the boy in his arms, rubbing his wet, calloused hand in a comforting manner, up and down on Duo's bare back. "I've got you. You're safe." He held the trembling body against his chest, careful of the numerous bruises and stroking the long, loose hair that fanned out behind Duo as it floated on surface of the deep bath water.

"They told me you were dead," Duo whispered in a tight, emotional voice. "I thought I failed, that I was left alone again."

"You didn't fail. I got out of the cell during your diversion," Heero replied. "But when I saw you go down I realized I couldn't escape with you being unconscious, so I decided to make a break for it. I got out of the cell door and shut it behind me, locking the three soldiers in with you, then took down a guard in the foyer of the detention center, stole his clothes and escaped the base. I went directly to Wing and came back to get you." Guilt sounded in his voice as he added, "I'm sorry I didn't arrive sooner, that I didn't prevent them from hurting you further."

"I don't care," Duo whispered, his voice hitching slightly. "As long as you're alive, I don't care what happened."

They sat there for a long while, just holding each other. Duo didn't ever want to leave this comfort and warmth that he'd felt so seldom during his fifteen years of life. But reality came back to him as the water slowly began to cool. With his head resting comfortably and heavy on Heero's shoulder, he took a look at the room they were in and asked in a bemused voice. "Why are we in a bathtub? Where are we?"

Heero's steady heartbeat was the principle sound under his right ear that offered continued comfort while he listened for the Japanese boy's answer. "We're in a vacated home in Singapore that belongs to friends of the Winner family," Heero explained, then continued. "I couldn't seem to get you warm up after we arrived. Your lips and extremities were bluing and even unconscious, your body shook from the cold. I presumed you were in shock from the beating, and being flown in Wing's hand for forty-five minutes also took its toll on your body. I decided a hot bath would heat you up more quickly than blankets on a bed."

Duo let a hand stray down to feel his hip, and found nothing covering his skin. "Any reason why I'm naked?" he asked, hiding his flushed face against Heero's neck.

"How else do you take a bath?" Heero replied without humor. "Frankly, you were only dressed in blankets when I found you and they wouldn't be too comfortable in here with us, would they?"

Duo moved to lean his head over the side of the bathtub to see the two familiar blankets on the bathroom floor. They were spread out, and it was obvious to him that Heero had unwrapped him like a Christmas present only to find him naked as a J-bird. He felt his face getting hot with embarrassment. Nothing like being mortified to chase away hypothermia, he thought to himself.

"What?" Heero asked, sensing his mood change.

"This is a bit awkward," Duo answered.

"I don't feel awkward," Heero replied casually while nuzzling his nose against the side of Duo's head.

Tread carefully, Duo's mind warned him. Though his first impulse was to deny his growing need for his fellow pilot, he reminded himself how he'd felt earlier that day, of the things he'd said to himself when he believed that Heero was dead. 'Am I really that fickle?' he asked himself. "Do I really not know myself or my mind? Have my feelings for Heero changed now that I find he's was very much alive and sitting naked in the over-sized bathtub with me?'

He felt Heero's lips ghost over his temple to place a chaste kiss there, causing a shiver of desire to begin in his belly and travel to the rest of his exposed body.

"Are you alright?" Heero asked, concern laced within his question.

Other than having questions running through his mind like a herd of wild horses, Duo didn't know how he was. He took a moment to assess the condition of his body and realized as he focused on it that he felt terrible. His body ached as if he'd been run over by a transport truck, and though his chilled limbs were warming, his legs still tingled uncomfortably and felt rubbery. There was also a nagging hollowness in the pit of his stomach that was no doubt the result of a lack of food for that day. All in all, he felt like a wrung-out, thoroughly used wash rag. "I feel like hell," he admitted at last, and fervently hoped that he wasn't going to be asked to move from his comforting position in Heero's arms.

"Here, maybe this will help." Heero stretched his arm out to the inside rim of the bathtub and depressed a button inlaid into the fiberglass form. From jet's set around the inside of the tub, water burst into motion, shooting out with considerable force and sending bubbles across the surface of the water. Heero angled their bodies around so that he could still hold onto Duo while the valve behind them would massage the bruised and battered body.

It was painful at first, the forceful flow of water hitting his abused flesh, but after several moments of getting used to it, Duo relaxed and began to enjoy the therapeutic aspect of a jet-fitted bathtub. 

After quietly relaxing for several minutes, Heero shifted them both again so that the pulsing jets on the side would be made useful on the bruised legs.

"Damn, but this feels good," Duo moaned, sinking further into the water, knowing without a doubt that Heero wouldn't let his face slide under the surface. The warmth and the steady pulsing made not only his body feel lethargic, but his mind also. He let his limbs float to the water's surface and concentrated on relaxing his body and mind.

He didn't know how long they lingered in the decadent bathtub before Heero stopped the jets with a push of a button. "We should get out now," he told his partner in a quiet voice. "I'm sure you're hungry and thirsty."

"I'm starving," Duo agreed sleepily. "But I think I'm too tired to do anything about it."

Heero tilted his bath companion up and forward into a sitting position and when he was sure Duo could maintain the position, he climbed out of the tub where he quickly dried off and placed the towel around his waist. Then with another towel draped over his shoulder, he bent over the large step to the deep basin and put out his hands. "Give me your hands and I'll help you get out," he instructed the half-asleep American.

Duo nodded and didn't bother stifling a large yawn as he complied with the instructions. He moved to get up on his knees, then reached out and put his hands into Heero's more than capable ones. Slowly, he stood on shaky and unstable legs and let the other boy help him exit the cooling bath water.

With his hands braced against the towel rack where Heero had set them, Duo breathing slowed and he struggled to keep his eyes open as Heero patted a towel down his wet hair and skin. "I don't know, Heero, if this partnership is working out," he began in a tired voice attempting to be humorous. "Working together seems to be hazardous to my health."

Heero's hands paused for only a moment, then began working again, wrapping the long towel-dried hair in the large bath towel. He then spoke as he began to dry off the other pilot's damp body, beginning at Duo's shoulders. "I don't think it's so much working with me that's causing your injuries as it is the acceptance of our missions. Fighting a war is not for the faint of heart. We get hurt because we accept the risks we don't want anyone else to take." 

As Heero spoke, his towel-wrapped hand slowly moved across Duo's chest, gently patting away excess moisture from his solar plexis, his underarms and then moved to the flat area of his belly. As his reply ended, he moved to tackle the rest of the body under his hands with the intent of thoroughly drying every inch of the American's bruised and damp skin. 

After his chest and back had been carefully dried, Duo remained resolutely still, valiantly attempting to control his shaking legs and breathing as he leaned heavily against the wall while Heero, most likely aware of his condition, continued with the same methodical system of drying him off. Duo thought for a moment that he should be embarrassed, or at least self-conscious at the other boy's close proximity and scrutiny of his body. He was, after all, on the thin side, almost skinny in comparison to Heero's more muscled body. Or maybe he should be repulsed by Heero's intimate touch, that he should be feeling something other than the growing warmth that was currently filling him. 

By the time Heero had worked his way up and down Duo's legs, the long haired teen was trembling, his legs feeling even more like rubber than before. Heero took another towel and wrapped it around his waist and carefully tucked it in to secure it. He then put his head under his partner's raised arm and wrapped his own around the slender waist.

"What are those identical round bruises you have on the back of your thighs?" Heero asked as he started to move them out of the large bathroom, leaving the discarded blankets and damp towels on the floor.

"Some sort of stun gun," Duo mumbled his reply. "There were two of them, and whatever the hell they were, they shot electrical jolts through my legs. They still feel funny. My muscles are twitching involuntarily and they're weak."

"Some rest and time should take care of that," Heero assured him as they entered the bedroom. 

Duo's fumbling steps faltered even more upon passing the doorframe, and they came to a stop as he took in the expansive and luxurious room. "Hell's bells," he whispered in awe, taking in the white bedding, delicately adorned with a pale gold fleur-de-lys pattern and laying on top of the largest bed he'd ever laid his eyes on. His eyes strayed to the tall narrow windows and the heavy curtains that matched the bedspread. Looking upward, his mouth dropped further at the sight of an impressive-looking crystal chandelier. Wide eyes surveyed the rest of the room to see white furniture with delicately carved legs placed against the walls, the gold trim and knobs of the dressers and stands looked to the American to be made of the real thing, and knowing this home was owned by someone who was a trusted friend of the Winner family, it probably was. Heero moved to take a step forward, but Duo's feet remained planted.

"I don't think I can stay in here," he told his companion in an uncertain voice, not taking his eyes from the expensive decor that was so foreign to him.

Heero turned to look at him, a questioning expression on his face. "Why not? What's wrong with it?"

Shaking his head, Duo answered with a worried frown. "Nothing's wrong, but I'll get it dirty or something. What if I accidentally broke something? I could never replace it."

Heero gave the worried boy a reassuring smile. "Quatre wants us to stay in here. You're going to need some time to recover and he wants you to be comfortable."

"Isn't there a room with less..." He searched for a proper word to describe his need. "ritzy stuff. I mean, I'm just not used to this kind of living. All this white makes me feel nervous. Shit, look at this freak'n carpet. Who in their right mind buys a white carpet?"

"People with more money than they know what to do with it," Heero answered, looking at the room with the same simple-man's eyes as Duo. "But it is a gift from Quatre and we don't want to offend him." Heero started again for the bed and this time Duo went along, no longer resisting. 

"No, can't offend Quatre. He'd be hurt if I made you take me to a hotel, wouldn't he?"

"Yes, he would. Despite being a Gundam pilot, he has a very sensitive nature."

Heero set Duo on the bed while he pulled back the covers and took the sham off the fancy pillows to reveal a soft gold, satin-encased pillow underneath that matched the sheets. 

"Are you sure I didn't die at that base and that this is heaven? Not that I expect to ever see that place," Duo rushed to say. "Maybe this is some weird kind of hell, where I'm being shown things I've never even dreamed of only to have it all cruelly taken away from me. You know, like the saying, 'You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

Heero knelt down in front of Duo, putting his hands on the thoughtful teen's knees and looking up at him through the long fringe of dark brown hair falling in front of his eyes. "Am I one of those things you've dreamed of?" he asked, his eyes searching and guarded. 

Duo swallowed nervously. He again remembered his earlier statement, that if he had a second chance, he'd act differently, return Heero's affections without second guessing his own emotions. "When I was told you were dead," he began his answer, and was surprised to hear so much choked emotion in his voice. "I had enough regrets to fill a resource satellite. I realized then how much you mean to me." He leaned forward, eyes intent on the other boy. "I know a relationship like the one you want is risky," he said. "Emotionally at least. I've begun to understand with the way my body reacts to your touch that I'm probably not completely straight, but that doesn't mean this is any easier for me." He paused to lick his lips, his mouth suddenly dry. "But I do know that I need you, Heero, that I'm drawn to you like no one else. I guess it's an pretty good indication of how I feel about you 

when my heart felt like it was breaking when I thought you'd died and left me behind." He leaned even closer to Heero, whose face was tilted temptingly up towards him, until their lips were only inches apart. "Don't leave me, Heero," he whispered in a low voice. "If I fall for you, I'm going to fall hard. You'll be my only safety net, so don't you ever leave me behind." He then followed his instincts, just as he told himself earlier that day that he would, and eagerly pressed his lips to Heero's. 

The kiss was more than just physical contact to both boys, it was permission for Heero to proceed with his advances. With that in mind, the kiss instantly became passionate and desperate, their mouths and tongues began working furiously against each other's.

Heero was trying to be careful, but it was difficult now that Duo was willing to let him continue pursuing him. Yet as their desire for each other mounted, the moans coming from Duo came more from his discomfort than from any pleasure he might had enjoyed earlier. The darker haired boy pulled back, breathing heavily as he tenderly brushed Duo's flushed cheek with his fingertips. 

"We have to stop. You're in no condition to continue this."

Duo nodded, not knowing whether to feel disappointed or relieved. Even as battered as he was, Heero's nearness and touch almost overcame his discomfort. He let Heero guide him back onto the bed and to rest his head on the pillow. Once he found a comfortable position, the blankets were pulled over the rest of his body.

"Rest, or sleep if you feel like it," Heero said in a voice that continued to surprise Duo with its softness. "I'm going to see a bout acquiring some clothing for us and prepare you some food. Quatre will most likely come in to check on you, so don't be alarmed if he should suddenly make an appearance."

Duo's eyes opened wide. "You mean he's here?" he asked with dismay. "Is anyone else here? Did they know we were taking a bath together?" He felt himself blushing with embarrassment at the idea of the other pilots knowing about Heero and himself.

"Quatre and Trowa are here, Wufei will arrive in a few days," the other boy answered. "And no, they have no suspicions about us. I informed them that I was going to warm you up in a bath. I didn't tell them I was going to be warming up with you."

Duo relaxed slightly, a movement that was visible to the Wing pilot. His blue eyes darkened as he fixed his gaze on the other teen. "Does a relationship between us trouble you so much that you still feel a need to keep it a secret?"

He wasn't sure, but Duo thought he detected a hint of hurt in Heero's question. "I've told you before, Heero, I just need some time to get used to it myself. Let's see how it goes between us before we involve anyone else in our personal business."

Heero continued to stare at him for a long moment, keeping his thoughts to himself before he abruptly turned on his heel and while still dressed in only a towel wrapped around his waist, he left the room.

Reaching his hand up to his towel-wrapped hair, Duo sighed. This relationship business was certainly complicated. He sensed that he'd either hurt Heero's feelings by not wanting the others to know about them, or he'd somehow disappointed him. Damn, but his hair was going to be a mess to brush out, he thought unhappily as his fingers snagged in a few of the tangled strands that had come free from the towel. At the moment, he was just too damn tired to do much more than frown at that unhappy fact. Feeling a deep weariness coming on, he gave into it and closed his eyes and let himself relax.

If Quatre came to check on him, Duo was blissfully unaware of it as he slept. A full hour passed by until Heero gently shook his shoulder in order to wake him.

"You need to wake up, Duo. Just for a short while," Heero urged the sleeper. "I've brought you some food and you need some water."

The sleepy-eyed teen woke up reluctantly and sluggishly. His stomach felt like it was pressed against his spine and not even his need for sleep could overcome his need for food. Pillows were propped up behind him to make him more comfortable and he gratefully leaned heavily against them as Heero placed grapes in his hand, followed by a cup of broth. After he finished a bottle of water, he also managed to eat two slices of buttered wheat bread. Though not completely satisfied, he'd had enough of the bland and 'safe' food to sate his gnawing hunger as sleep beckoned to him once again. 

His eyes were closed as he took his last bite of food. The pillows behind him were carefully removed and he felt himself being lowered down onto a sinfully-comfortable mattress a moment before his head came to rest again on the soft, luxurious pillow. He was deeply asleep a moment later and didn't feel Heero removing the loose towel from around his head and gently placing the long, damp hair out across the adjoining pillow. Nor, in his state of slumber, did he feel the gentle pull of the brush through the lower strands of his hair as the other pilot began the arduous task of brushing the thick mass until it was free of knots and tangles and lay as soft and smooth as the silk pillowcase it lay upon.

TBC


	17. Kiss and Tell

Reluctant Seduction

By: Bane's Desire

Part 17 - Kiss and Tell

The braided teenager spent the next two days in bed, resting his body and giving it the time it needed to begin healing from his ordeal at the hands of OZ. Heero or one of the others were by his side for the majority of the time, so he was never bored or lonely. It became a routine for Heero to bring his meals to him as well as the pain medication Quatre had been able to get a hold of from a local doctor. The words he and Heero had exchanged as well as the kiss he'd initiated seemed to have been put aside, not coming up in their conversation. Duo wondered if Heero was still upset with him about his wanting to remain discrete about their relationship for a while longer. If Heero was unhappy with him, he seemed to have shelved that emotion away, for at night he would come into the bedroom, undress and climb under the luxurious covers and sheets to cuddle up and fall asleep against him. Duo was beginning to look forward to that time of day more and more.

Three days after his rescue, he felt well enough to leave the princely room he and Heero shared to venture out in an effort to become acquainted with the rest of the house. It was well past mid-morning when he'd emerged, freshly showered and a little uncertain about how Heero would view his refusal to stay in bed any longer. His legs, though slightly stiff and sore, felt better and less rubbery. Thankfully, Heero had been right. After several days of resting, the tingling sensation was finally gone. 

Dressed in the jogging suit Quatre had left in the room for him, he gripped the ornately-carved wooden bannister as he stepped down the curved staircase to the marble-tiled foyer below. If he thought the chandelier in his room was something to pause and stare at, the one hanging from the two-storey high ceiling over the entry hall left him gawking, his mouth literally hanging open. He was seeing for himself and for the first time visual evidence of the kind of wealth his fellow pilot had known all his life. As his eyes took in every aspect of the mansion, Duo decided that the rest of the house was as proportionally large as his bedroom and equally opulent.

He came to the tiled floor and made his way towards the arched door opposite the front entry, noting that the new tennis shoes Heero had brought him were almost soundless on the marble tiling. Entering what looked to be a formal dinning room, he could hear the faint murmuring of several people talking beyond the next doorway. He followed the sound of those familiar voices in order to track down his friends. His sudden entry into the enormous kitchen seemed to catch the other pilots off guard as all three turned to face him as he entered and stared at him with varying expressions on their faces. Heero looked at him with worry Quatre with delight and Trowa seemed mildly surprised.

"Any chance for a late breakfast?" he asked, trying to walk as normal as possible towards the nearest chair, ignoring the stiffness of his body. 

"What would you like?" Quatre asked, his smile in place. "Eggs? Pancakes? I think I might have white bread here for French toast."

Duo's grin grew in appreciation for the offered menu. "I haven't had French toast in ages. How about a half dozen slices with some butter and powdered sugar?"

"Okay," Quatre rose from his chair, smiling genuinely at the chance to do something for his friend. "Just give me a few minutes and they're yours."

"You're well enough to be out of bed?" Trowa kept his attention on the braided teen to judge the truth of his answer by the boy's body language.

"Yeah, I feel loads better," Duo replied, a slight grin in place. "So, what's up with you guys? Any missions?"

"We've got a few days off," Quatre said over his shoulder as he stood at the counter where he was breaking eggs into a bowl. "Trowa and Heero have a mission in two days and I'm just waiting for instructions."

"You've been fairly unlucky lately, Duo," Trowa observed, changing the subject. "Why is it that every time I see you lately you're listed as temporarily disabled."

The braided teen shrugged. "String of bad luck," he answered, then grinned. "Think I need to toss out my old lucky rabbit's foot and get a new one."

"Be sure to do that before your next mission," Trowa said with a slight smile on his face, his attention then turned to Quatre who was vigorously whisking the eggs in the bowl, his posterior wiggling just slightly, captivating the Heavyarms pilot.

Seeing he'd lost Trowa's attention, Duo turned his head to wink at Heero who had also been watching Trowa. Heero returned his gaze with a curious look in his eyes as the American said, "Don't worry, I've already got a new lucky charm." His quiet reply, a lopsided smile and a knowing wink let Heero know he was his new lucky charm he'd spoke of. The deep blue eyes receiving the wink warmed and the corners of Heero's mouth twitched upward.

Quatre's whisking ended and the process of dipping bread into the egg mixture was carried out before he carefully placed the first battered piece in an oiled frying pan. The resulting sizzling sounds brought a homey feel to the large kitchen. Trowa returned his focus back to the other two sharing the table with him. A questioning eyebrow went up as he observed the silent exchange between the Japanese and American boys. Clearing his throat, he was amused to see the two pilots look at him with twin expressions of embarrassment at having been caught. Yet any comment he was about to make was stymied by Heero's glare, telling him to refrain from questions or teasing them about the small incident. It was Duo's face, however, flushed with embarrassment kept his curiosity working overtime.

"Do you think Trowa suspects something?" Duo asked under his breath as he and Heero stepped outside the back door of the beautiful home and into its manicured gardens shortly after he'd finished eating.

"I believe that the color that rose in your face when he startled us was a good indicator to him that something has passed between us."

Duo stopped to lean on the rod-iron patio chair, his hands gripping the back of it tightly. "I don't know how to handle this Heero," he said, his head ducked to avoid the other boy's eyes. "How do you feel about him knowing?"

"From what I observed in there, I hardly think we have anything to fear as far as those two are concerned," Heero replied. "I am correct in my belief that there is something going on there, aren't I?"

Duo nodded, hesitantly. "I wasn't supposed to say anything. They were kind of afraid of yours and Wufei's reactions, even when I told them I didn't think you'd object."

"How did you find out?" Heero asked, then noted the flush of color on Duo's cheeks again.

"I... um.. accidentally kinda caught them fooling around on the couch in the last safehouse we shared." Heero started chuckling, but Duo ignored it. "Damn, Heero, it was really embarrassing. They made me promise not to say anything because if Quatre is right, any word of their relationship getting back to his family would be disastrous. Evidently they're not going to be too pleased with the little brother and only male of the family being gay. He said there might be repercussions."

Heero sobered, then nodded, letting the other boy know he understood the necessity of the other two pilots keeping their relationship a secret. He then sighed, getting back to Duo's previous question. "As far as how I feel about them knowing about us, I think that as long as we function as a team, I don't care what any of them think. But," he paused, seeming thoughtful, "maybe their relationship can aid our own. Perhaps we should ask them about it so that they might guide us."

"Hell no!" Duo gasped, his head snapping up and his eyes looking at Heero with shock. "I'm not asking them how to go about... this." He gestured wildly with his hands indicating the two of them. "If we can't figure it out, then it proves we're pretty pathetic, not to mention incompetent. How do you think they figured it out? I'm sure they didn't go around asking another gay couple."

"Maybe not," Heero replied thoughtfully. "But it could be to our benefit to consult Quatre and Trowa and glean what we can from their knowledge. They seem to be enjoying a successful relationship that could serve as an example for us to follow. I know the mechanics of the sexual act, but forming and maintaining a lasting relationship is an unknown factor for me, and that alone could prove detrimental to the procedure."

"Shit, Heero." Duo gaped at the other boy. "Do you have to make it sound so... technical? Sexual act? Who the hell talks like that? I feel like some kind of freaking lab experiment."

Heero's eyebrows drew together. "I suppose in some respects that what we are attempting is an experiment," he said thoughtfully. "But it is one in which I hope to have only positive results."

Duo continued to look at the darker haired teen like he was out of his mind. But when the Wing pilot reached for his arm and pulled him forward, Duo dutifully followed. He found himself being led down a stone garden path lined on both sides with shrubs and a myriad of plants, most of them boasting blooms of red, white and pink. Neither teen said a word as they walked together and enjoyed the serenity of the sights and aromatic aroma that surrounded them.

The large estate that encircled the elegant house was impressive, at least Duo thought so especially as they stopped in front of a white gazebo located at the far end of the grounds from the stately home. The ten-foot tall sides of the small structure were covered by honeysuckle vines and violet wisteria blossoms that gently adorned the ceiling by draping themselves through the open latticework roof and lending an air of enchantment to it.

"I never imagined a place like this before," Duo said with awe, his eyes wide with wonder at the sight and fragrant smell of the blossoms that surrounded him. "Can you even wonder what it must have been like to grow up knowing that there were such beautiful things?"

His eyes came back to his companion as Heero's hand gently touched his face, and he looked to see a tender smile soften the lines of the Japanese boy's usually stoic countenance.

"You're very attractive, Duo," Heero told the boy standing close to him, his voice as soft as the look in his eyes.

"You're not so bad yourself," Duo blushed in reply. Then as Heero moved even closer, his intent more than evident, the braided teen closed his eyes and tilted his head, accepting the anticipated kiss.

What started out as a gentle show of affection, slowly grew into something much more needy and passionate. Soon the two young pilots were clinging to each other, mouths hungry for more as they struggled for breath while continuing their duel of lips and tongues.

Duo moaned into Heero's mouth as he felt the other boy's hands move under his jacket and beneath his tee-shirt to caress the skin on his back. Damn but it felt good. He copied Heero's actions by pulling out the hem of the green tank top Heero favored and sent both of his hands up the strong, muscled back. 

They continued on a while longer, kissing and touching and enjoying each other, and just when Duo thought they were about finished, he felt fingers toying with the elastic waistband at the back of the borrowed jogging suit. Suddenly, two calloused hands slipped past it and quickly moved south, palms gliding over his backside to grab the cheeks of his bottom and after cupping the fulness there, they gently squeezed. Duo gasped as the simple act caused a thrilling rush of pleasure to course through his body and settle in his groin, causing him to instinctively rock his hardening member against the front of the boy holding him so invitingly close.

The long, wet kiss ended as the two clung to each other, their bodies vibrating with need. "I like these pants," Heero said, sounding almost breathless as his hands moved quickly to push the elastic waistband down around Duo's slender hips to his thighs.

The braided teen's body stiffened even as he desperately clung to Heero's shoulders for support. "Someone might see us," he nervously protested.

"No they won't," Heero replied with confidence. "Quatre and Trowa went into the city to buy us some clothes. We're the only ones here at the moment."

"Oh," was all Duo could manage as Heero stepped back slightly and put his deft fingers to work, efficiently removing his partner's jacket and t-shirt. The deep blue eyes then gazed with appreciation at the still darkly-bruised but trim body of the boy in front of him. Duo's blush deepened, feeling vulnerable at being as exposed as he was, with only his sweat pants still remaining, and those were half way down his thighs.

Quicker than he could have wished for the contact, Heero was there again, his hands and lips seeming to touch everywhere at once. When those tempting lips sought out his neck, Duo threw his head back, giving Heero full advantage of his slender column and let himself enjoy the nipping, licking and kissing of the bare skin he'd presented to the darker haired teen.

It seemed like a dream to the braided boy that he was caught up and thoroughly enjoying every sensation Heero was wringing from his body. He ignored the voice of caution in his head telling him they were going too quickly as his need for Heero grew steadily as those lips began to move again, and this time they slowly made their way down his chest, nibbling and sucking on his nipples and pinching them just enough to increase his desire for more of his touch. The kisses trailed southward towards his navel, and Duo cried out softly as Heero kissed the flat of his belly and took hold of his aching need a bit lower and began to work mind-spinning wonders with his hand. He was vaguely aware that Heero settled on his knees in front of him before Duo felt himself fully engulfed by a phenomenal warmth and swallowed down his cry in response to the sensation. Never before in his life had anything felt so sinfully wonderful.

Later on, well after they were finished and returned to the house, he would recall that particular moment with humor. He believed his thoughts during that intimate act were somewhat... unusual. As he stood in the middle of the garden gazebo, experiencing Heero's excellent oral ministrations, Duo fleetingly wondered what in the hell he was supposed to do with his hands. He tried keeping them at his side but the urge to grab hold of Heero's hair and guide his motions became too strong. He resisted that urge and settled for wrapping his arms around his middle, but that also felt off, making him feel like he was somehow emotionally cutting himself off from Heero. With his frustration mounting along with peaking pleasure, he reached both hands up to his scalp and slid his fingers into his hair on each side of his head, then fisted the brown mass near the roots and held on for dear life as Heero made his body vibrate with need and cause his senses implode while his passion exploded in a way no one else had ever done before.

His climax came with a long moan of pleasure that was filtered through his gritted teeth. His knees give out from under him as he gasped for breath to fill his lungs. Heero caught him as he buckled and held him in a firm hold against his chest. Duo felt himself being guided to sit on the other boy's lap as they settled down together to sit on the white-painted, wooden floor. After a moment of collecting himself, Duo looked up into Heero's face to see his eyes were still filled with passion.

"That was..." Duo began, then paused when he found he couldn't find the words to describe how he felt. He thought it odd that when it came to his emotions, he had a hard time expressing himself. In the long run, he didn't need to say anything for Heero's lips descended on his own once again, giving him a taste of his body's essence in the other boy's warm mouth. He realized a moment later that the bump on Heero's lap indicated there was an obvious need there that needed be taken care of.

With their lips still happily joined, and in his strange, almost undressed state, Duo reached down to knead the apparent hardness through the black shorts the other pilot wore. Heero moaned into his mouth this time, bringing a smile to the Deathscythe pilot's lips as he experienced a sense of power and excitement from the reaction he'd caused the Heero to feel. He broke off the kiss and brought his lips to Heero's ear. "Tell me what to do, Heero," he whispered in a low voice. "Let me take care of this for you." And so for the next ten minutes the typically independent and stubborn boy from L-2 implicitly followed the Wing pilot's explicit directions until the name Duo was shouted loudly with a passion-filled if not slightly strangled cry, scaring the nearby birds out of their nests.

Duo came to the conclusion that there was a funny aftereffect from having intimate relations with someone; he suddenly found himself experiencing an overwhelming need to be with Heero as often as he could and to get as physically close to him as he could manage. After that memorable time in the garden where they had entered in a more physical aspect of their blossoming relationship, it became a sort of game between the two to duck into closets or the nearest unoccupied room and share a toe-curling kiss and/or to grope each other as much as possible while maintaining the outward facade to the other pilots of just being good friends. The idea that they were fooling around under the noses of the other pilots, increasing the potential for being discovered, only served to fuel the excitement and passion that was steadily growing between them, adding to their mutual enjoyment.

Wufei arrived at the safehouse the evening after the gazebo incident. As usual, he stood off from the rest of them, content with his books even while his intelligent eyes seem to study the four of them as they interacted during the shared evening meal. It was unspoken yet felt by all that being together, even for a brief time, was a welcomed diversion.

When Duo woke the following morning, he had been prepared but nevertheless disappointed in finding Heero gone. The pillow next to his own was cold to the touch from the other boy's pre-dawn departure for his mission. Pulling that pillow up against his chest and burying his face in it, the American could still smell Heero's scent on the fabric. Breathing the comforting scent in through his nose, he slowly fell back to sleep with his thoughts on the dark haired, blue eyed boy.

When he woke again, he didn't feel any great need or find a good reason to exit the room that morning. When he did finally descend the grand staircase, it was just a few minutes from being twelve noon. He was casually dressed in black jeans and a gray t-shirt, his braid leaving a moist spot on the otherwise spotless shirt as it lay slightly damp over his shoulder. He went directly to the kitchen and found Quatre and Wufei working together as they prepared lunch.

"Morning, guys," he greeted them cheerfully with a smile and nod of his head, grateful that the pills Heero had been feeding him seemed to help with the aches that lingered after his beating.

Wufei turned and raised an eyebrow as he watched the other teen enter the room with a bounce in his step. "You mean good afternoon," the Chinese teen corrected, glancing with a look of slight disapproval at the kitchen clock placed above the sink.

Duo shrugged, dismissing any negativity from his fellow pilot. He just felt too good today to let anything bother him. His body was healing, he'd had several days of showers and food, and his long-term mission was apparently succeeding. He couldn't help but smile to himself thinking of Heero's words spoken softly into his ear as they fell asleep with their arms and legs entwined. "I'll keep my promise," he'd said in his deep voice. "And you keep yours." If they hadn't already satisfied each other with an extensive make-out session topped off with handjobs that evening, those words could have started something more. 

"Can anyone be more obvious?" Wufei's voice, spoken in a teasing tone with a nudge to Quatre's ribs brought Duo out of his daydream of the night before like a bucket of cold water to a sound sleeper. He felt his face heating up.

"What do you mean? What am I so obvious about?" He challenged the other Chinese boy nervously.

Dark eyes turned back to him, and a sly smile graced the bronzed face. "Come off it, Maxwell, your face-splitting smile gives you away."

Duo looked anxiously from the Chinese pilot to Quatre standing next to him and saw the blond regarding him with an uneasy smile and a hint of apology in his eyes before he nodded his head. "It is obvious, Duo. You're practically walking on air. Not that it's a bad thing," he rushed to say, wanting to reassure the braided boy.

Duo felt... well, flabbergasted. But before he said or did anything to dig himself in deeper, he needed to know if they were talking about the same thing he was thinking.

"What's obvious?" he asked again, this time directing his question to the blond.

Quatre blushed. "That you and.... Heero..." He stopped short of saying anything more, but Duo got the gist of it.

"Are friends?" he added hopefully to Quatre's unfinished sentence.

"Well I should hope so," Wufei snorted while rolling his eyes

"Duo," Quatre stepped forward to stand in front of the embarrassed American. "It's obvious that you feel strongly about Heero and that you're... involved, but it's not clear to me how he feels about you. I'm... concerned that you're going to be hurt."

That was just about the last thing Duo had expected to hear from the other pilots after they figured out what was going on between himself and Heero. Damn, he swore to himself. He'd wanted to keep that bit of information limited to the two of them for a while yet, at least until he was more comfortable with the idea. Well if wishes were raindrops he'd be building an ark. It seemed to him that his wants and desires were somehow always out of his reach, like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, never obtainable. "Thanks for your concern, Quat, but I'm a big boy. I know how to take care of myself," he replied, keeping as much of his embarrassment and feelings of resentment out of his reply.

A dubious blond eyebrow rose in response to the declaration. Quatre moved to say something more, but Wufei interjected. "Yuy is a complex person, as we all are," he began, his demeanor serious. "Just make sure that neither of you are trifling with the other's affections and that you both understand what each of you expect from the relationship."

"Since when did you two take up the occupation as advisers for love-sick fools?" Duo snapped, not used to having people butting into his life, especially his love life.

"It's a wise man who follows sound advice," Wufei said, frowning unhappily at seeing his concern for his fellow pilots being scorned.

"Did I ask for it?" Duo knew that he was being difficult and he certainly sounded belligerent, but he wasn't used to having his personal life discussed so openly.

"Duo, please." Quatre gave the braided boy a pleading look for patience. "I know you're embarrassed about this, but we only want to help."

The American's face flushed further. Quatre was reading him with his 'space heart'. With mounting anger, Duo said, "Don't do that thing you do, Quatre. It's damned invasive."

"I'm just trying to understand your strong reaction to our concern."

"Did I put in my two cents after I found you and Trowa messing around? Did you come to me for advice, my opinion, or invite me to openly discuss your love life and personal feelings for him in front of someone else?

The room went still and Quatre's complexion turned a deathly pale color. Duo knew instantly that he'd made a huge mistake. His wide, horrified eyes shot to Wufei, who was in turn staring at the blond, an inscrutable expression on his usually placid face.

"Quatre," Duo turned back to the equally stunned blond and reached out to touch his friend's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. Honest, I didn't mean to."

The boy's blue/green eyes shifted nervously from Wufei to Duo and back again but he said nothing.

Duo knew it was probably up to him to smooth things out between the other two pilots. It was hard to tell what Wufei was thinking as his face was completely void of any expression. He nervously cleared his throat before speaking. "Um, Wufei? You don't have a problem with Quatre and Trowa being together, do you?" He managed to ask his question rather casually and with a look of hope in his eyes.

Slowly, the Asian teen's eyes moved from the blond to focus on the other boy's face. "As long as they perform to the best of their abilities, who am I to say what they do with their free time?" Wufei replied, looking as cool as a cucumber, Duo thought. But Wufei clearly wasn't done speaking. "The same goes for you and Yuy. If you both perform to your usual standards, then there will be no complaint from me. I must admit surprise, however," he continued, "that out of five of us, four are gay. It seems I'm the exception."

"I'm not gay," Duo blurted out before he could stop himself. He mentally groaned and physically slapped himself on the forehead.

"What do you mean?" Quatre asked, and Duo thought the blond looked as confused as he felt.

The American thought furiously, needing to come up with a reason for his outburst. "Forget I said that," he snapped, obviously flustered.

Both of the other boys frowned with varying degrees of disapproval; Wufei's expression the more fierce. Their silence and penetrating glares spoke volumes to the braided teen. It was clear they didn't know what to think about his impulsive statement, but they were both too polite to pry. He could hear the silent accusations. If you aren't gay, what are you doing in a relationship with another male? Hell, sometimes he didn't even know the answer to that, other than the fact that it began with mission orders. Why he'd let it go as far as he had, or why he enjoyed Heero's company, his kisses, or his touch as much as he did, he didn't know. He hated to admit, even to himself, that the Wing pilot's dark, sultry looks and his brooding appearance and personality were suddenly a turn on to him. How could he say he wasn't gay when a whispered innuendo or a brush of Heero's hand against his skin got him aroused as quickly as a Playboy centerfold had in the past? 

Running both hands through the fringe of loose hair above his forehead, Duo let out an exasperated snort in seeing the other two weren't budging from their positions and were nerve-wrackingly patient in waiting for an explanation. "Listen," he began with a shake of his head. "This is new to me, alright? I'm still getting used to the idea of... liking someone who isn't a girl, you know, in a physical way."

Quatre, seeing Duo's discomfort at his admission, moved to offer some measure of comfort to the other boy. "It is a confusing time, Duo. I know because I suffered through it myself after I met Trowa. Oh, I knew I wasn't attracted to girls my age, but I thought that was just because I'd observed the many flaws and characteristics of women, having so many sisters surrounding me as I grew up. I thought I was just ambivalent in my sexual feelings towards them because I was inundated by so many dominant females in my life. But the first time Trowa and I played a musical duet together, I knew why I wasn't interested in women sexually. I spent a lot of time mentally beating myself up over it, knowing my family would be vehemently opposed to my newly discovered sexual orientation. That's why it's important for me to keep this quiet. The consequences of such information being brought to their attention before I'm ready for it could be dire for not only me, but for the rest of us."

Wufei listened earnestly to the blond's admission, his fine, dark eyebrows drew together as his frown deepened. "What could your family do to you?" he asked.

"The traditions of my family and people go back thousands of years," Quatre turned to face Wufei as he answered, his blue eyes brooding. "Families have been known to execute their children for sexual aberrations. Tying them up and drowning them in the backyard pool, stoning them or just slitting their throats are some of the more traditional forms of execution for what they deem inappropriate behavior. By some form of luck should I escape that end, I would, as I told Duo in the past, most likely forfeit my inheritance as well as any Winner money or property now at my disposal. The loss of either during the war could mean we pilots are left without safehouses, food and medical aid, fuel or repairs for our gundams as well as transportation."

"Your family loves you but would harm or ostracize you in such a manner?" Wufei asked, disapproval already apparent on his darkening face.

"I can't be certain, but I don't want to take the risk." Quatre's normally happy countenance was dampened by a brief flash of deeply felt sorrow. "Being a pacifist family, I don't believe they'd kill me, but I might possibly be shunned, an anathema to them. At the moment, it's more than I am willing to bear. Trowa understands all of this and agrees with me that for the time being, we need to hide our feeling for each other from outsiders. If the both of us happen to live through this war, we'll deal with my family and the consequences then."

Wufei surprised the other two by putting his hand on the blond boy's shoulder. "I think I can speak for Heero and Duo when I tell you that you will always have our respect, no matter what your family may say. You have earned it from where we stand, and that will not change easily."

Quatre's eyes seemed to shimmer with emotion in reaction to Wufei's bold statement. Those liquid orbs then turned to Duo, who nodded his head in agreement. "Thank you," he said, trying hurriedly to compose himself. "That means so much to Trowa and me."

Duo's eyes shifted from Wufei to Quatre's faces. "Oh man, I feel a group hug coming on," he moaned dramatically, causing the blond to laugh and Wufei to snort. Lunging forward, he grabbed both surprised boys around their necks and brought their three heads together, their arms coming up to rest on each other's shoulders. "You guys are the best, you know that, right?"

"I agree," Wufei said, standing a bit stiff at the unusual close proximity to the other two.

Quatre's eyes continued to shimmer, accompanied by a shaky smile of gratitude.

Not ten minutes passed from when Wufei and Quatre left on a dual mission three days later, Duo was climbing up into Deathscythe. The mighty black gundam had been brought by Quatre to their current location from its previous hiding place. His war buddy was now neatly tucked inside a storage building, adjacent to the borrowed home yet hidden from the main house by the tall trees surrounding it.

He settled himself into the chair that fit his body perfectly and decided that it felt good to be in the pilot's seat again. The braided boy took a moment to relish the feeling of being somewhere in which he truly belonged. If only he could have spent the war inside this cockpit, he thought with a sigh, he would never have had to kill by hand, go to schools with alibis that were becoming harder and harder to remember, or see the faces of bereaving family members of Alliance or OZ soldiers who had the misfortune to meet up with him. Then again, if he had fought that way, sheltered within the cockpit of Deathscythe, he might never have met the other pilots face to face, and after interacting with them during the past week, he knew that their presence in his life helped him survive the rigors and horrors of war.

Without further thought on the subject, he automatically powered up the systems and turned on the communications board and quickly typed a short message to G. He was only slightly surprised to see the old man's face pop up on his display screen a few moments later.

"Duo, my boy. How are you healing?"

"I'm fine, old man. What trouble are you getting me into this time?" he asked with an amused smile on his face.

"Report first," the older man ordered, his beady eyes glittering.

Duo sighed. "Fine. I'm recovering quickly, most of the aches and bruises are fading. My long term mission, I'm happy to say, is going well, though he's been gone for about five days now."

G looked pleased but not completely satisfied. "Good," he replied. "Tell me how much progress you've made."

One cinnamon colored eyebrow rose. "You've got to be kidding me?"

"I need a full report to discuss with J. You know how serious this mission is, Duo. We've told you its success is imperative."

"Yeah, yeah," the teenager replied, unimpressed. "You're just a dirty old coot who wants to know all the down and dirty. Well, you know you're not getting it from me. Just inform Dr. J that Heero has promised me that he will not self destruct."

"How did you get him to promise that? You know the mission means everything to him." 

"I promised him the same thing in return. If he doesn't self destruct, then I won't either. It seems Mr. Gadget's guess was right, that Heero was interested in me."

The man with the weird haircut nodded, ignoring Duo's nickname for his colleague, his face an expression lacking either approval or disapproval. "So you have gotten him to... attach his feelings to you? He desires you to live?"

Duo nervously scratched at the back of his head. "That's the impression he's given me."

"Are you sexually involved?" It was obvious G was trying to be tactful.

Duo's eyes narrowed dangerously. "That's none of your business," he snarled.

"Duo, this is part of your mission. The details are important. If something should happen to you we need to know what progress you've made and how you went about it."

"Why?"

"So that another might be sent in to accomplish what you could not if indeed you are killed."

For some reason that simple statement made the braided teen very angry. But no matter what G said, he wasn't about to be goaded into spilling his guts about his intimate relationship with Heero. Screw the mission. "It's personal, man." he protested, tight-lipped.

The older man on the communication screen frowned but remained stubbornly silent, waiting for his answer. He knew better than anyone else that silence and Duo Maxwell never did sit well together for long periods of time. He was one of those individuals who usually filled up the silence if it extended too long. He knew his boy very well and bided his time.

"Dammit, you creep." The boy seethed in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "Alright, we're up close and personal and that's all I'm going to say about it. Are you happy?"

The man smiled almost deviously. "Yes, I am happy. Keep up the good work."

"Now do you have something for me to blow up?"

The man's face sobered and he became serious, a look Duo had come to know as his work face. "Pilots 01 and 03 are being reassigned to their respective colonies for the time being. O4 and 05 will be sent to space as soon as their current mission is completed."

"They're back in space?" Duo asked worriedly. "What about me? You're not going to leave me dirt side, are you?"

G shook his head. "It seems that OZ has a space fortress named Libra which poses a very real threat to the existence of the colonies. The fire power of its beam cannon is powerful enough that if it was precisely aimed and fired for a prolonged time, it could effectively knock the Earth off its axis, not to mention what it could do to a man-made colony. Your orders are to make your way back to space as soon as possible. Hide yourself amongst the people of any colony of your choice and await further contact. Unfortunately, Deathscythe's original hanger was discovered, so if you choose to return to L-2, that location is no longer an option. It will be up to you five to take this fortress out of action together, disabling it permanently if not destroying it completely."

"Piece of cake with the five of us going at it," Duo said confidently.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, boy. This fortress is huge, its capacity for carrying mobile suits is staggering as is its firepower. This will be no cake walk, I can assure you."

"Alright," the boy nodded, his face a picture of deep thought as his mind raced ahead. "I'll figure out a way to launch off this rock and join the others."

The man on the screen nodded, appearing content with the situation, then suddenly his face softened. "Duo," he spoke quietly and with affection for the boy currently located thousands of miles away. "I'm being pursued and estimate I have only hours, maybe two days at the most, until I'm captured. I've run out of options, which means you might not hear from me again."

Worry came back into the teenager's face. "Hide in the vents or the sewers. You can get out of there if you want, G. You're as wily and clever as any street rat I've ever met."

"I'll take that as a compliment," the older man chuckled. "But street rats usually are nimble and quick. I'm riddled with arthritis and joints that don't bend enough to take advantage of the more clever ways to escape."

"G." Duo's voice had a quality of pleading to it. "You get out of there, you hear me? You're..." the boy hesitated putting a name to the attachment he'd felt for the man who was often a thorn in his side. Still, he had been kind to the traumatized kid that Howard found on his sweeper ship. His training had been strict, but he hadn't been cruel or torturous. He sensed the man liked him and honestly cared about his well being. It wasn't so difficult to realize that the feelings were mutual. He let his sentence go unfinished, not able to put into words what he felt for his mentor.

The older man nodded with understanding and gave the braided, teen so far away, a thin-lipped smile. "I know boy, I feel the same way about you. Stay sharp, be well, and carry out the mission regarding 01. He'll watch your back when I can't."

Duo swallowed down the lump forming in his throat. He didn't want to say goodbye to someone he cared for ever again. "You get out of there, understand? If you don't, I'll have to delay my missions in order to come and rescue you."

G's eyes narrowed. "You stick to the orders I gave you. O1 is your top priority and taking out Libra stands right next to it. You got that? My job in this war is complete. I created Deathscythe and its pilot, and so my legacy lies with you, boy. Your actions will write my history as to whether my efforts and labor were worth something or a colossal waste of time. Make me a good name, Duo. Make me proud."

"Yes, sir." Duo replied quietly, taking each of his mentor's words to heart.

Without further word, G smiled fondly at him then switched off his end of the communication, leaving Duo feeling very much alone. Duo let himself dwell on the conversation for a good five minutes before he turned to his on-board computer and began the search for some form of transport that would launch him into space.

TBC

Author's note. The comments about the reaction of a Muslim family and death sentence for their own child is regrettably true. A book titled 'The Princess, The True Story of an Arabian Princess', by Jean Sasson, tells of such occurrences. These acts are and should be horrifying and chilling to us all. How women, or any person can be treated like this in the modern age defies all logic and understanding. 


	18. The Tides of War

A Grudging Seduction

By: Bane's Desire

Part 18 - The Tides of War

A week after his conversation with G, Duo found his way back to L-2. He was happy to learn his colony was still sympathetic, even loyal to the cause of the gundams. Without too much trouble he found a junkyard where Deathscythe was easily hidden even when it was clearly left out in the open.

He received a transfer of cash from Quatre shortly after he'd set up a bogus bank account and had contacted him on L-4. With the welcomed credits, Duo rented himself a room at a cheap hotel located near the junkyard and his gundam. Nightly he sat in front of the dilapidated television and avidly watched the news channel to glean whatever information he could about the war. OZ was in the process of overpowering the Alliance, and the announcement that the five scientists, who created the gundams, had been captured was a calculated boost to their propaganda machine, showing its effectiveness in curbing the rebellion of the colonies. In another report, Earth's Transportation Ministry held a news conference announcing the theft of several space shuttles within the span of one week. The thefts were being attributed to the gundam pilots but they were still waiting for conformation that the colony rebels had returned to space.

Duo sat back and stretched. He'd been hanging around the dingy, lifeless room for five days. He'd heard no word from the other pilots nor gained any information as to the whereabouts of the fortress named Libra. He supposed he could go out into space and search for the damn thing, but that would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. He'd made up his mind to go into Deathscythe in the morning and try once more at contacting at least one of the other four pilots and see if they had any more information than he'd come up with.

He jumped, startled at the sound of a soft knock on his door. Picking his gun up from the coffee table he silently moved towards it and planted his body into the space next to it. "Who's there?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"01."

Putting his gun down, Duo unlocked the door, unbolted the extra security lock and cracked the door open. A smile grew on his face at seeing Heero standing there wearing his green tank top, a pair of blue jeans and leather coat that was slung casually over his shoulder.

Opening the door further, Duo motioned the other boy inside and shut, locked and bolted it behind him. "How'd you find me?" he asked turning, but his question and breath were taken away as Heero's mouth captured his own and possessive arms wrapped tightly around him. 'What a greeting,' he thought as he eagerly returned the kiss.

After several steamy minutes had passed, they parted and Heero's deep blue eyes searched his own. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Duo nodded. "And you?"

"I'm fine," Heero answered and brought his forehead to rest against Duo's, letting a relieved sigh escape his lips.

"They got the Mad Five," Duo said softly, his arms still firmly wrapped around Heero, enjoying the feeling of security the strong body pressed against his own brought. He felt Heero nod and a moment later they parted.

Taking his hand, Duo led the other pilot to the bed and they sat next to each other. Heero turned to face him, his eyes drinking in every aspect of his being and was the first to speak. "I've got the location of the fortress Libra and I've had minimal contact with the others. We're to rendezvous with them tomorrow at these coordinates." As he spoke, he brought his black jacket to rest on his lap and fished through the pockets until he found what he was looking for and pulled out a slip of paper with space coordinates written on it. Duo took it, studied the numbers, committing them to memory, then took a match out of his jeans' pocket and set the piece of paper on fire over his glass of water on the bedside table.

"We'll hit it from five different directions, coming from above and below to avoid the more direct gun ports."

"Whose running the show there?" Duo asked, having studied the different characteristics and battle strategy of certain generals in the Alliance now having become a part of OZ.

"You've heard of White Fang?"

Duo's eyes widened. "Those bastards tried to get me to join them. They're extremists, a shoot off from the original Operation Meteor and out of their friggin' minds."

Heero nodded in agreement. "They've recruited the Lightening Count, now going by Milliardo Peacecraft. A self-proclaimed prophet of sorts, his mind set on freeing the colonies."

"He's an earther, not a colonist," Duo frowned. "What the hell business is it of his to save the colonies? Isn't that our job?"

"He's Relena's brother," Heero said with a hint of a smile on his lips.

Duo snorted, a smile of his own gracing his handsome face. "Figures. Fanaticism must run in the family."

Heero's hand rose to brush aside the fringe of hair from Duo's forehead, a softening tenderness entered his eyes. "Have you eaten?"

"Nah, I was thinking of going to the greasy spoon down the street for a late dinner. Why? Are you hungry?"

Duo was certain Heero was acting bashful, but as he'd never seen him act that way before, it was hard to tell. "I was thinking I could take you out."

"A date?" Duo asked, he couldn't help the teasing tone in his voice.

"Hai, a date."

"Are you staying the night?"

Heero looked up through the dark hair covering his eyes. "If you'll allow me to."

G's last wishes went through Duo's mind. Heero and destroying the Libra were the man's last orders to him. He wouldn't let his benefactor down, that just wasn't his style, he told himself, though he knew his own reasons for wanting Heero to stay had very little to do with his mission.

Leaning forward, he kissed Heero's cheek and combed his fingers through the thick, coarse hair. "Just don't order any garlic, okay?"

Duo woke up early the next morning. The clock on the bedside table displayed the time as being five thirteen and he knew without looking out the tightly drawn curtains that the colony lights would still be dimmed to a pre-dawn light. He felt Heero's arms around him and could hear the beat of a strong, resting heart under his ear that was pressed to a warm, hairless chest. Under the blankets of the twin bed their naked bodies were pressed together in the pose of lovers, and he smiled. Duo found himself enjoying a feeling of contentment that he'd rarely experienced in his life. He compared it to his time on the street that he often called his hungry days, when he and Solo had found a large stash of food and they ate until they were full, knowing they had enough to do it again the next day. During those dark times, he'd learned to live a day at a time, not worrying too much about the future. Food only kept so long, so you feasted while you had it. Maybe that was the way to view his relationship with Heero. Yes, he was a mission, but he was becoming so much more. Each time they got together, Duo felt more connected to the other pilot, felt himself needing more from Heero. And it seemed to him that maybe Heero was feeling likewise. The other boy didn't have to show up at his door to let him know about the attack on Libra, he could have transmitted a message from Wing to Deathscythe. He realized that Heero had wanted to see him, and that thought brought an added warmth to his heart towards his... lover?

Technically, he and Heero hadn't had sex yet, the kind that involved penetration, though they'd gotten pretty damn close. Duo wondered if his own nervousness had put Heero off from going 'all the way'. Had he sensed his hesitation in committing himself physically to a homosexual relationship?

He mentally laughed at himself. He was lying naked in bed next to another male and he was enjoying it. His past straightness and reservations had evidently flown the proverbial coop. He was getting more comfortable with the thought that he was Heero's lover and that Heero was his. He was committed to his mission regarding Heero, keeping him from self-destructing, but he was also coming to a realization that he was just as committed to seeing that Heero was happy and safe.

Heero moved slightly and he felt a warm hand stroke his bare back. "You awake?" the other asked, his voice still groggy with sleep.

"Yeah," Duo responded quietly, then turned his head to place a kiss on the caramel-colored chest.

The hand on his back moved up and then down, gliding over his smooth hip and slowly eased his leg up to partially rest on Heero's hip. After a few moments of exploration, Duo found himself shifted onto his back with Heero hovering over him. Bedroom blue eyes glittered with growing passion as the Wing pilot lowered his body on top of his, lips joining together to fuel the growing need each of the teens felt for the other.

It wasn't long before Duo found himself writhing underneath Heero's magic touch. He was turned again, this time coming to rest on Heero's chest, their mouths still melded together by passion. He felt a hand move down the length of his spine and two fingers, pressed together, traced the cleft. Finding their desired target, they pressed gently and massaged the puckered opening found there. A moan escaped from somewhere deep inside the long haired boy.

"Do you want me, Duo?"

Dazed eyes looked up into blue. It was hard for him to concentrate on answering as the swirling need inside of him grew. "I.... I." He didn't get any further with his answer. He decided later, on the long walk back to his gundam, that his hesitation must have been the answer Heero had been looking for because he stopped what he'd been doing and shifted his hand over the bony hip to massage another part of his anatomy.

"It's too soon," Heero whispered in his ear before placing a soft kiss there. "I don't want you to regret anything we do. We'll wait until after the war and things are decided."

Duo heard him, but frankly the only thing on his mind at the moment was to see a satisfying end to his highly aroused state. Fortunately for him, it was a task Heero had proven to be more than capable of, and once again, Duo was not disappointed.

"Quatre, above you!" Duo shouted into his communications system, seeing a beam cannon's door open above and to the left of Sandrock's position.

"I see it," came the blond's clipped answer, and from his vid screen, Duo saw the white gundam take the necessary actions to out maneuver the tracking system. He then turned back to his own assignment. He'd been dodging the beam cannons on the underbelly of the obscenely large Libra. His goal was to take out as many cannons as possible while fighting the ever present mobile dolls that kept popping up at inopportune times.

"Dodge, aim, strike!" He murmured under his breath the same actions he'd followed for the last ten minutes. He was making progress but it was too damn slow. The cannon port to his left exploded from the blast he'd sent that way. A warning klaxon sounded on his control panel, prompting him to throw Deathscythe upwards to avoid whatever enemy fire was coming his way. Deathscythe was hit, the sound of the explosion just outside the back of his gundam boomed like a lighting strike three feet from a potential victim. His body was thrown forcefully forward, his shoulder straps digging deeply into his body but keeping him from hitting the control panel.

"Duo?" Heero's worried voice sounded on the scratchy speaker. "Status!"

Shaking his head to quickly regain his senses, Duo checked his control panel. "Looks good," he answered, righting himself in his chair. But his conversation ended abruptly when the defense screen showed three mobile dolls gaining on him. "Oh no you don't," he said in a dark, menacing voice. With his hands gripping the controls tightly, he spun his trusty gundam around and drove it into the middle of the approaching suits, his thermal scythe swinging until the three were cut into pieces and could only be considered as space junk. 

A moment after eliminating them, he noted with some dismay that he'd lost ground and had to begin again. At least this time he knew that he didn't have as many beam cannons to dodge because he'd taken out at least half of them on his last path towards the center of the well-protected underbelly of the monstrous battle ship.

"I think something's wrong," Quatre's voice suddenly came over the speakers, sounding anxious. "Trowa's not answering. Does anyone have a visual of Heavyarms?"

"My scanners tell me he took simultaneous blasts from two mobile suits," Wufei reported, his voice tense. "I'm on my way to assist. Heavyarms appears unresponsive and I'm assuming its systems are off-line. Trowa's defenseless and mobile suits are converging on him."

"Allah, no!" Duo barely heard the soft sound of Quatre's anguished whisper over the comm unit. Knowing Wufei and Trowa were topside of the massive fortress, and since his last skirmish had brought him back to nearly the point of contact, he make a hasty decision to assist.

"Watch your back, Quatre. I think I'm even closer to Trowa than Wufei so I'm going to help."

He switched off his communication board just as he heard both Heero and Quatre begin to voice their response to his statement. The blond sounded grateful and Heero was pissed. He turned his gundam around and made his way back to the edge of Libra, ready to slip over the lip and find the defenseless gundam before it was too late

Trowa appeared to have experienced difficulties similar to his own and had been pushed back by the constant assault from Libra's crew, making Heavyarms easier for Duo to spot on his scanner. Yet upon his approach, he could see the unresponsive suit was being pelted by shots from the computer-driven mobile dolls. The American moved quickly to his comrade's aid, taking aim at the nearest suit that happened to be turning in his direction. "Taking pot shots at my buddy, huh? Well take that you nickel plated tin can." He aimed and fired at the suit, dodging its attempts to return fire and distracting it until he was in close range. His scythe came into action then, slicing the suit right down the middle. Pushing the two pieces of metal aside, he surged forward in an effort to help defend his friend. He could see Wufei approaching from the opposite side, admiring his dragon arms blazing with his laser fire as the clamps, that worked as a vice, decapitate a doll's head, taking out it communication from the mother ship.

Turning on his comm, Duo spoke to the other pilot. "Take him out of here, Wufei. I'll cover your back."

"Roger that," Wufei replied tersely. 

Duo's sensors reported the movement of Wufei's gundam towards Trowa. Seeing that problem being taken care of, he hit his thrusters and sent his flying weapon towards the nearest threat. The warning klaxon sounded again and automatically Duo flung his suit downward, towards the ship, but his evasive moves were a scant second too late as Deathscythe was struck once more by a beam of enormous power, and this time, Deathscythe's left arm was severed.

"Shit!," Duo yelled in frustration as he was violently thrown in his seat. He never lost his bearings and turned his gundam back to face his attacker. He paused only a moment to readjust the straps that had painfully cut into his shoulders once again. "You think you've got me, huh?" he yelled at his pilot-less opponent. "You don't know Shinigami then. I'll fight as long as I have my scythe." The green lethal blade glowed ominously against the black backdrop of space, and with an expertise known to very few, the teenager from L-2 spun his favorite weapon with on hand in a blurring circle, then catapulted his one-armed suit into the line of mobile dolls gathering around him like vultures to carrion, cutting them to pieces. 

"Retreat!" Heero's shout came out loud and clear over the speakers, and Duo realized he'd forgotten to turn of his com system. Coordinates flashed on the computer screen and he quickly entered it into his navigational computer. "Roger," he answered, hearing the others, minus Trowa, reply in a similar manner to the order. It still took him more than a few minutes to get away from the battling dolls that surrounded him and move beyond the range of laser cannons that remained functional on Libra, shooting with deadly accuracy but short of their goal of eliminating at least one of their dreaded enemy. 

Deathscythe lagged behind the other gundams as they hurried away from the moderately damaged fortress. The gundam's pilot turned the volume down on his comm board, unable to bear the worried pleading of Quatre's voice, trying to get Trowa to answer him. He made a systems check, cataloguing all the repairs that his gundam would need and wondering where in space he was going to get the material he needed to make Deathscythe whole.

A faint bleep on his sensor screen indicated a large ship was headed in their general direction. Making a quick decision, he reactivated his communications system. "I'm going to go check out that ship, see if it's friend or foe," he told the others.

"Be careful," Quatre said, voicing the sentiment of the others nicely.

"Will do," he replied, then hit the thrusters.

"Your suit is damaged, 02." Heero's sharp disapproval came through loud and clear. "Do not engage if it's an enemy. Radio for back up."

"Geeze, it's not like I don't have a weapon. I'll catch up with you soon." He cut off the comm board again, not wanting to argue. 

The ship, when it became visible, was large, white and recognizable. An enormous grin grew on Duo's face and he slapped on the communication board and switched the frequency. "Hey, Hawaiian-shirt freak, are you listening? What the hell are you doing in space?" he asked jokingly over the comm system. He heard an answering static, signaling that someone was listening and noticed the person replying left the visual off.

"That you kid?" The voice was unmistakable and caused the gundam pilot to laugh.

"Yep, braided wonder boy at your service, old man. Seems like my buddy Deathscythe has become an amputee. You got a few spare parts lying around that tub of yours?"

"Tub!" The older man's voice sounded indignant. "Whose ship are you calling a tub? And what the hell did you do with my suit?"

"Your suit? Seems to me I stole Deathscythe fair and square from G," the boy answered with humor lacing his voice. "Oh, and sorry. I forgot tub is the name of that monstrosity that floats on the ocean."

"Ships, boy. Ships. Not tub or a bucket of rusty bolts and not a cistern or spittoon. You'd think after all this time you'd have a little respect," Howard joked. "So what's taking you? Are you coming in or not?" The faceless man asked with mock irritation.

"Yeah, but I've got some friends with me. You got room for them, too?"

"All five of you?"

"You bet."

"I'll put out the welcome mat and open the back loading hatch. Just bring those beauties in here and we'll see what we can do."

"You're the best, Howard," Duo said sincerely, his affection for the older man evident in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah, flattery will get you everywhere, won't it, Duo? Must be why you're so good at it, you grifter."

"Hey! When the hell have I ever taken anything from you dishonestly?" Duo wondered if Howard truly felt him to be the swindler he'd referred to.

"Nah, you just con everyone to doing what you want them to with that charm of yours, and you know it."

"I call it a learned, necessary instinct for survival," he replied while sending the Peacemillion's coordinates to the other gundams.

"Call it what you may," Howard chuckled easily. "But you're damn good at it."

"Maybe so, but I don't scam my friends, ever."

"I know. Geeze son, don't get your boxers tied up around your balls. Just get on in here for a proper hello."

"Thanks, Howie," Duo said sincerely, yet instead of entering the ship as instructed, he turned to wait outside the white vessel for the arrival of his friends.

He positioned his suit beside the cargo bay doors and motioned the others in, with Trowa's gundam being supported by Wufei and Quatre. Once the four were inside, he followed. As he moved Deathscythe in, he heard the massive bay doors shut behind him. A cargo worker in a spacesuit, holding a florescent glowing baton directed him to one of the large holding bays that looked like it was made just for Deathscythe. Seeing the others backing into similar places, he did likewise. After feeling the clamps locking onto his suit, he leaned back into his chair and took a deep breath. That had been one hell of a fight and adrenaline rush. But like all such bursts of energy, when it was over, it left him feeling bone-weary and drained.

He released the safety harness and hit the key of his onboard computer to finish up the diagnostic test he'd begun earlier in order to determine what systems, other than the obvious, would need repairs by Howard's crew. Setting aside the seat restraints, he rubbed his aching shoulders and winced at the pain caused by being thrown against the straps repeatedly during the battle. His hands moved stiffly and were sore from their feverish work on the controls. He took a few moments to stretch them out and knead the aching tendons before he did anything else. Through his view screens, he saw the red lights flashing in the hanger turn to yellow and then to green, telling him that the cargo/maintenance cabin had been pressurized and was now filled with oxygen. 

Carefully standing, Duo bent from his waist in all directions, trying to get the crick out of his back. Hearing a satisfying ripple of pops down his spine, he turned to open the front hatch of his gundam in an unhurried manner. The door's seal popped, as did his ears, and then hissed as it popped open. Before he could move to open it further, he looked up, startled to see the hatch flung open and Heero Yuy storming through.

No words were spoken as he felt himself grabbed by the front of his flight suit and lifted up, only to be pressed firmly down into his seat with Heero standing over him.

"Don't you ever cut me off when I'm in the middle of giving you instructions, Duo." It was easy to see that Heero was angry. His lips were compressed into a hard line as he glared down at the braided teen.

"I was the closest," Duo snapped back defensively, feeling a bit intimated by Heero's anger but he stubbornly refused to show it. "I wasn't making any progress from where I was when Quatre's call came in. I was the logical choice to go to Trowa's aid."

"You cut me off," Heero growled. "Don't you ever do that again, Duo. If something else had gone wrong, neither Quatre or I would have been aware of it and you could have been killed."

He blinked with sudden awareness up at the pinched face above him, realizing Heero had truly been worried about his safety. The idea warmed him inside and his heart began to speed up. "Heero," he said, softening his voice and reaching a hand up to sooth the anger and worry from the other boy's face. "I'm sorry, but I knew you'd argue or take the job yourself. I wasn't making progress from where I was and Trowa's safety was more important than destroying a couple more dolls. I didn't mean to worry you, I just didn't want to take my concentration away from the battle to argue the point."

Heero's face had softened minutely as Duo spoke, but his eyes remained solely focused on the face below him. "Don't do it again," he ordered, though his tone was softer than before.

"I can't promise, but I'll try, alright?"

There was a long pause as the two remained unmoving from their physical and mental positions. Finally Heero replied with a curt nod of his head. He then swooped down and captured Duo's lips with his own, kissing him fiercely without causing pain. The braided pilot brought his hands up and, feeling the tense muscles in Heero's back, began to massage them, hoping to calm whatever was bothering his... lover. He found he still stumbled over that word, even when he said it in his head. 'My lover,' he told himself more firmly as the kiss became less intense and more passionate as he eagerly returned it. 'I'll say it over and over until I can admit it to myself that it's true.' he thought. 'Heero is my lover. I am his lover. I love...' He suddenly pushed away from Heero's lips, startled at the realization of what he was about to admit to himself. "Wait," he said a bit breathless, his heart racing in his chest. "How's Trowa?"

Heero frowned then straightened, his eyes never leaving the boy still sitting in his pilot's chair. "They were extracting him from Heavyarms when I entered Deathscythe."

The idea that Heero would come to him without first seeing how an injured member of his team was froze Duo into place. Heero was always about the mission, and Trowa being injured or worse would be detrimental to their final goal of winning the war. He wondered for a brief moment what it meant, but at the back of his mind, he wondered if this was Heero's way of declaring his true feelings for him.

Ignoring the aches and pain in his body, Duo jumped up from his chair and threw his arms around Heero's neck and hugged him for all he was worth. He couldn't fully admit it to himself his newfound feelings for Heero, but he took his lover's actions as more or less a declaration of his deeper feelings for him. The idea that someone cared enough about him to go against their nature affected him more than he'd ever thought it would.

With those thoughts swirling around in his head, he hadn't truly been aware that he was raining ecstatic kisses all over Heero's face until he was finally grabbed by his sore shoulders and pulled back so Wing's pilot could study his face.

"What was that all about?" Heero asked, looking like he was torn between being amused, pleased and worried.

Duo couldn't keep the smile off his face. "I guess I'm just feeling lucky to have you watching my back. It's a really good feeling."

Heero smiled then leaned forward to plant a kiss on the other boy's forehead. "Yes, it is," he replied warmly. Turning and slipping his arm around Duo's waist, he led the braided boy towards the open hatch. "Let's go see how Trowa's doing."

The next week was filled with battles fought both offensively and defensively. Heero, Quatre and Wufei went out together or separately in turns as Trowa recovered from his concussion and superficial wounds and Deathscythe and Heavyarms underwent repairs. 

The waiting was the hardest part, Duo thought. Heero was in full battle mode, his mind and body in a constant state of being alert and tense, ready for the battle call. There had been little time to remind Heero of his promise to not self detonate, and Duo worried with each successive battle whether any of them would live to see the end of the war. The mobile dolls, though beatable, were sent against them in wave after wave of soulless but controlled attacks. The three fighting gundam pilots were nearing exhaustion and there was little relief in sight.

It was only late at night, when Duo lay with Heero on his bunk, holding tightly to the strong but weary soldier, that he whispered a gentle reminder to Wing's pilot of his promise. In turn, at Heero's prompting, he remembered his promise also. In order to relax his partner, to put aside his concerns and strategies that plagued his mind and rest for a few hours for yet another day of battle, he used his imagination to describe in vivid detail a future after the war, seeking and finding a place to call home and hoping for a life without orders or missions. It was those quiet hours each night that seemed to help soothe the unease both boys felt at the war's acceleration.

On the seventh night after their arrival on Peacemillion, Heero lay tense for a longer period of time than usual. The day had been a particularly grueling one. "Tomorrow will be better," Duo told him, lazily draped across half of the Wing pilot's body, which was clothed for sleep in his green tank top and his black shorts. Both of their flight suits lay on a chair next to the bed, ready to be donned if the call to arms went off during the night. Duo was looking forward to the coming day. Deathscythe was finished, the last of the repairs wrapping up that evening with all systems running at top levels of performance. He was more than anxious to engage the enemy once again and help his comrades. Trowa was also on the mend and would join the battle scheduled for 0800 hours, if not sooner.

The two pilots lay comfortably against each other, and after a while, Duo came to believe that Heero had fallen asleep. That thought only lasted until he tried to move and he found a strong pair of arms grabbing onto him, holding him in place.

"Where are you going?" Heero asked, his voice etched with weariness.

"Just gonna to get a drink," Duo replied quietly. "Do you want anything?"

"A couple of aspirin," came the short reply.

The arms loosened and Duo removed himself from the bed and went into the connecting bathroom. After getting his drink of water, he got the medication Heero requested, another cup of water, and made his way back to the other pilot's bed. Heero lay still, but his eyes opened part way as Duo made his near-silent approach. Slowly sitting up, he accepted the pills, muttered his thanks just before he popped them into his mouth, then grabbed the disposable cup and downed the water, successfully swallowing the medication.

"Headache?" Duo questioned, taking the cup back and tossing it into a lidded trash receptacle.

"That and general aches from battle," Heero said as he reclined back down onto his pillow, his eyes remaining fixed on his roommate.

Duo's eyes were transfixed on the handsome face, lined with weariness and shadowed circles under his eyes. A nearly permanent crease of worry was forming between the dark and slender eyebrows. Just looking at his fellow pilot, knowing how much Heero gave to each battle, that he put in one hundred and ten percent into every action, caused his heart to constrict with an emotion he wasn't sure of. His instincts told him to reach out and sooth the crease of worry, to kiss away the weariness, and to hold onto the person who had slowly but surely come to mean more to him than not only any other person in his life, but more important than any mission.

Heero's eyes searched his own, but for what, Duo didn't know. He knew Heero desired him, but was he feeling as emotional about their relationship as he was?

"You fight tomorrow," Heero said, his tone even and unemotional. 

"Yeah," Duo said as he sat on the edge of the mattress. "I'm looking forward to getting out there and making a difference. Who knows, with the five of us fighting together again, maybe tomorrow will make the difference, turn the tide of the war our way."

"Don't take unnecessary risks," Heero reminded him. "I have your promise."

Duo managed a small smile. "And I have yours."

Heero nodded, then his eyes returned to studying the young man now sitting by his side.

Duo felt the need for something more than just those few words that had just passed between them. He had a sense that the war was going to end soon. Each day brought battles more fierce and determined on both sides. Oz, headed by Treize's faction and White Fang, who followed Milliardo Peacecraft, seemed intent on duking it out with each other while the gundams fought both enemies vigorously. It was only logical that, sooner or later, something or someone had to give.

"What are you thinking about?" Heero asked, startling Duo from his thoughts.

"The end of the war," he answered, his eyes refocusing on Heero's face. "I think it's coming, Heero. One way or another, the war is coming to an end for us." Even to his own ears, Duo could hear the slight inflection of trepidation in his words.

Heero, even in his exhausted state, reached up to take hold of Duo's hand and held it in a reassuring manner. "I think it will be a good thing, don't you?"

"I hope so," the braided teen replied, his heart pounding heavily in his chest and his emotions coming closer to the surface. "I'm just unsure of the future, Heero. I know I've talked about it, but what the hell do I know? I'm still a kid." He paused for a moment, frowned and hurriedly continued. "Okay, I'm a very messed up, badly behaved kid. I guess I just don't really know what I'll do if I'm not needed to pilot Deathscythe anymore. I've tried to avenge the deaths of the people who were unjustly killed by the Alliance, but I honestly don't feel any better than when I started." He sighed deeply as he studied the two hands clasped together, absently noticing the difference in their skin tones and how much it reminded him of the symbol of ying and yang, representing the sun and moon. "But the last thing I want to do is to go back to the streets." His determined eyes rose to meet Heero. "I've seen for myself that life can be better than that, and that's what I want, a better life. That is if they don't throw our asses into prison."

"Duo..." Heero hesitated before continuing, and Duo wondered if he'd changed his mind about what he was going to say. But after a moment, a look of resolve crossed his face as he spoke. "After the war, when we both walk away from the last battle, I want to sit down and talk to you. There are things I need to say and I want to tell you about my training." He paused and blushed slightly, but his eyes were shining with an unspoken need. "I want so much," he said in a hushed voice. "And in telling you these... things, I can only hope there is a future we can discover together. I don't have a place to go back to after leaving Wing for the last time but back to Dr. J. And like the streets are to you, Duo, it's the last place I want to go."

Duo nodded. He knew in his heart that after the war, he needed to talk to Heero also. He had to tell him, to lay all the cards out on the table and somehow inform Heero that he had been a mission. Honesty, he believed, was the only way to keep a relationship. 

He hoped Heero would understand. 

He had begun their relationship under orders and false pretenses, though he tried to be as honest as he possibly could. He just hadn't realized that he would respond physically and emotionally to Heero as he had when he'd begun to follow his orders. 

Would Heero forgive him? He didn't know. But maybe, if he first prefaced his confession with his newfound feelings for him, Heero might be able to find it in his heart to forgive and forget.

"Alright," he agreed with the suggestion. "After the last battle, we'll find a safe bolt-hole: a hotel room, a cabin on one of Howard's ships, anywhere we can be alone, and we'll talk."

The slight smile on Heero's lips showed that he was pleased. Duo returned it, his heart swelling with his feelings for the other boy. He wished he could express in some what he truly felt for his best friend and lover, words that were still too foreign to his mind and tongue to be spoken out loud. Then the idea came to him on how to do just that, to show Heero how much he cared. In remembering their more intimate moments, as few and far in between as they had been, Duo recalled he'd never instigated it. He always waited for Heero to pull him into an embrace, to kiss or touch him first before his body began to respond in kind. A smile lit his face, and Heero's eyebrows rose with curiosity in having seen it.

Turning on the bed to angle himself more into position, Duo braced his arms on either side of Heero's body and slowly lowered himself and pressed his lips against the warm ones beneath him. The kiss began slow and languid, and as it continued, Duo climbed back up onto the bed and straddled the other boy's body, resting his posterior on Heero's strong, flat stomach. Heero's lips gladly received his attention, and soft moans began to emit from the usually self-controlled young man.

Duo felt Heero's strong and calloused hands move from his waist to glide down to his hips and then roamed to the front where they began to meet the bulging boxer-covered flesh there. Following his heart instead of his usually contradictory mind, Duo gave into every sensation he felt, letting his body react the way it wanted to from the many teasing, alluring touches of Heero's hands and fingers.

He whispered seductively into Heero's ears the thoughts that came randomly to his mind, half the time not making much sense to himself but the overwhelming need to say them took over any reason.

Heero's hands and mouth responded to his touch and words that tumbled from his lips, words that seemed to have no place between two soldiers engaged in war where there was so much to lose and everything to gain from their relationship.

This time was different for the both of them as Duo took an active role in their growing intimacy. Instead of being the almost dormant, submissive receiver of Heero's experience, he took what he had learned during their few intimate times together and applied them to his generous teacher. 

It was music to Duo's ears to hear the soft cry of completion that issued from Heero's lips as he attempted to swallow down his lover's essence for the first time. In the past, he could never have conceived of the notion that he would participate in orally stimulating another male, but Heero had proved to be anything but just another male; he was becoming the center of his universe.

Crawling up from between Heero's legs to lay his body against his chest, both teens sighed contentedly. If Duo thought Heero was too tired to do anything but sleep, he was mistaken, for almost immediately he found himself flopped over onto his back with Heero giving him a smile that would have blunted the sun in contrast. He could only guess that the dark haired boy was pleased with his amateurish though obviously successful attempt at giving him a blow job. After a quick, passion-filled kiss, with Heero tasting himself on his lips and tongue, he let go of his lover's mouth with a gasp, and the Japanese boy began the slow move down his trembling body with teasing kisses, harmless nips and his laving tongue. Duo relaxed as much as possible, a smile growing on his face in knowing his lover had taken on a new, self-appointed mission, one that he would complete before letting either of them give into their exhaustion that night. Duo smiled, and a moan escaped his throat at the sensations Heero always awoke in him. He was more than happy to put off sleeping for just a little while longer and to assist Heero in achieving his current goal.

TBC

Author's note: One more chapter to go. Thanks, as always, to my helper half way around the world in England. You're the best!


	19. A New Dawn

Disclaimers and warnings on first page of story.

A Grudging Seduction

By: Bane's Desire

Part 19 - A New Dawn

Duo watched with his heart in his throat as Heero flew off to engage Zechs in Tallgeese.

"Work together!" Quatre shouted through the com, his frustration sounding loud and clear as he, Trowa and Wufei had gone out to wreak whatever havoc they could in breaking up the swarms of mobile dolls aiming for Peacemillion.

Deathscythe proved lethal in each and every swing of the scythe, bringing down one enemy suit after another. Then a faint, frantic voice called out to him. He recognized it instantly as Hilde's and wondered what in the hell she was doing out in the middle of a battle. He knew she'd been dishonorably discharged from OZ after she'd helped him at the moon base after escaping the transport ship. The last time he'd seen her she was safe and sound on L-2 adjusting back into civilian live.

Leaving his assigned task with a brief explanation to Quatre, Duo went after the girl, hoping he wouldn't be too late.

"Relena's on Libra," Duo said to Heero after he'd met the other pilot in the hallway as the medical team wheeled Hilde away. "Hilde risked her life to bring us the printout of the fortress," he reported sadly. "She told me that while she was there she found and talked to Relena Peacecraft. Her brother's in command of Libra and that she refuses to leave there without trying to talk him out of his plans for destroying Earth."

Heero nodded, and Duo could only wonder what was going on in his lover's head. "Whatever you decided to do," Duo said quietly. "I've got your promise."

Startled, the blue eyes shot open and looked into his own. "And I've got yours." Those words seemed to pass between them like a lover's caress whenever they chanced to see pass other in Peacemillion's corridors. Neither boy smiled as they continued to drink up the vision of the other with their eyes. The situation was too tense for any further emotional exchange or for either of them to pretend that everything was going to be alright. They both knew that their futures were uncertain in the days or even hours ahead. For now, the two could only try to memorize the face of his lover before they parted once again.

After several moments, Heero gave a curt nod, then turned on his heel and walked down the corridor towards the docking hangar, leaving Duo standing alone in the hallway watching his retreating form. Closing his eyes, the braided teen offered one of his rare prayers, asking for the safety of the boy he and the scientists had known along was the hope of the colonies.

Hacking through the inner corridors of the partially destroyed Libra had seemed a good idea at the time, but Duo knew they were running out of time before the enormous chunk of the former battleship would enter the Earth's atmosphere. If the monstrous, split-off section of that station metal hit Earth, he knew the consequence to the planet would be devastating, causing death and destruction that would affect the entire planet's population for decades to come. He shifted in his pilot chair, feeling waves of exhaustion deep within his muscles and bones, threatening to overwhelm him.

"Heero?" he called out, needing to know the other was still fighting.

"Get out, Duo. Remember your promise."

The braided teen swallowed down all his emotions and weariness and replied with a firm voice. "And you better remember yours."

Over the communications board, Duo could hear that Quatre and the Maguanacs were also struggling to exit the wreckage. Then Wufei's voice, which had been silent since his victory over Treize Kushrenada, cried out, "Heero, I've got your buster rifle."

Hope billowed within his chest, and Duo made an extra effort to get out of the falling deathtrap, wanting to see what Heero was going to do. He knew the power of the buster rifle could eliminate the hunk of junk if it was aimed correctly; and Heero's aim was seldom off. He broke free of the falling wreckage and moved quickly to distance himself from it as it began its entry into Earth's atmosphere. He moved closer to where Shenlong, Heavyarms and Sandrock had positioned themselves and floated close to each other, facing earthward.

Duo joined them and positioned Deathscythe so that he could watch the show. It was then that his eyes widened in fear and his heart felt like it would hammer out of his chest. "Heero," he whispered in a choked voice. Horrified, he watched as Wing Zero plummeted backwards towards earth, the back of the gundam radiating red from the heat of re-entry.

Slapping his hand on the communications board, he tried to raise his lover. "Heero!" he called out sharply. "Don't you dare. You gave me your word," he said, hoping beyond hope that the suicidal lunatic could hear him. Torn between anger and fear, he held his breath and watched as Heero made a last ditch effort to save the planet by raising his powerful beam cannon towards the falling mass of debris above him. It was obvious to everyone watching that Heero was having a difficult time controlling the backward descent of his gundam and locking his weapon system on the portion of Libra above him that was now also burning red from entering the atmosphere.

Grabbing up his crucifix, Duo clutched it in his hand and held it against his chest over his heart as he uttered a silent, desperate prayer, hoping for some kind of divine intervention on Heero's behalf because he was pretty damn sure it was going to take nothing short of a miracle to save not only Earth, but Heero also.

"Blast it, damn you. Shoot!" he shouted, only to see the bright burst of light at the tip of the buster rifle flare to life then rupture into a brilliant, straight line of power into the center of the falling debris. On impact, the chunk of the once mighty fortress shattered into pieces, the majority of which would easily burn up in the atmosphere.

Duo swallowed hard, his eyes unblinking as he stared at the viewing screen for some sign of Wing. His eyes began to water and he was quick to brush any moisture away to clear his vision with a grunt of irritation. And then he spotted it, a vague white dot shooting out of the top layer of the Earth's atmosphere. His relief was almost overwhelming, and vaguely heard the other pilots cheerfully commenting about Heero's unbelievable but welcomed survival. Duo managed a few similar words, but then cut off the communication board as he choked up. It was over. The war was over and they had all survived. He didn't exactly know what it was he was feeling at the moment. He felt too numb to be happy, too relieved to celebrate, and too exhausted to think about it. 

Running both hands through the damp fringe of hair at the front of his face, he let everything sink in, that OZ and White Fang were defeated and the war was really over. With that idea settling into his brain there came the realization that along with the end of the war, his mission pertaining to his involvement with Heero was also over.

Burying his face in his hands he felt the overwhelming need to cry, but his motto had always been, 'boys don't cry', never mind he couldn't live up to that phrase. He'd cried plenty of times in his life. Still, he tried not to, it just didn't seem manly.

A beep sounded from his computer as new coordinates flashed on his display board. Heero was instructing all the pilots to meet on the nearest colony, L-4. He took a deep breath and struggled to compose his riotous emotions as he entered the information into the navigation computer and activated the auto pilot that would take Deathscythe to L-4 while he contemplated what he was going to do next.

As he approached the unfamiliar docking port, Duo came to the decision that once he and Heero were alone, he would make a confession to him about the mission. He would quickly add that somehow during said mission, he'd fallen in love with him, that Heero had become much more than an assignment and that he didn't want things between them to end.

Would Heero believe him after all the lies he'd told? Had he really lied? He asked himself. Maybe a little, in the beginning, but he'd been as truthful as he could be given the circumstances. He honestly didn't believe he was gay up to the day he'd accepted his mission, but maybe he'd been deluding himself. He hadn't been attracted to Heero in a sexual way before the mission order, but he had always been drawn to the stoic, handsome teenager who seemed to epitomize everything a gundam pilot should be. He'd admired Heero and his dedication before, but that certainly changed into something else once the Wing pilot had touched him, shown an interest in him, and definitely when his knees buckled after one of his intoxicating kisses. 

He felt terrible, mentally and physically, as he neared the open port and took over the manual docking procedures to enter the colony. He realized that the unsettled feeling that was churning in his gut was fear. He was afraid of Heero rejecting him once he learned the truth. He hadn't gone into this mission with any intention of falling in love with Wing's pilot; he'd gone into it with the idea to stay straight and not become physically involved with his new friend. But his seemingly demented mission orders had led him to the best thing in his life, to a companionship he knew he'd not find in anyone else, to a level of trust he never imagined, to a love that was unexpected but so needed.

"Please understand, Heero," he whispered to himself, wishing for that result with all his heart.

Moments later, Deathscythe was locking into a port made for shuttles. Duo locked down the systems and removed the seat's restraints. He almost fell over as he pushed himself up from the pilot's chair to stand. His legs and arms were weak from the strain of battling for hours on end. His hand caught at the door and he paused to wait for the world around him to stop spinning. He needed some food and sleep, and not necessarily in that order.

With a push of a button, the cockpit door hissed as the seal was broken and the light and recycled air of the colony entered as the hatch lowered. Taking hold of the cable above the hatch, Duo hoped he had the strength to hang onto it as he made his descent to the hanger floor. As the cable began to lower, he surveyed his surroundings and noted the other gundams were lined up and fully secured in the docking bay. Wing was the first in line, obviously having arrived at the colony before the others. Next came Wufei's gundam, followed by Sandrock and Trowa's Heavyarms. It was to Sandrock that Duo's eyes went, seeing some movement coming from the open cockpit door.

Trowa was backing out of Sandrock's hatch, and as he turned to find the exiting cable, Duo saw that he was carrying Quatre in his arms. Even from the distance that separated him from his two friends, the American could see the dark stain of blood that covered the Arabian's exposed white t-shirt that they all wore under their flight suits. The blond's silky-haired head rested heavily against the taller teen's shoulder as Trowa struggled with the weight in his arms and the cable's footing.

"No way," Duo hissed to himself, fear for his friend giving him the adrenaline he needed to ignore his weariness and jump the rest of the distance to the hanger floor and run like the devil himself was after him to the bottom of the tall white gundam to offer his help. 

Trowa's gaze was fixed on Quatre's pale face until he noticed movement below. He turned his head to see Duo standing at the foot of Sandrock, his face turned upward, looking anxious.

"What the hell happened?" Duo questioned, reaching his hands out to steady Trowa as the cable's foothold stopped a foot above the metal floor.

"Dorothy Catalonia was in the control room for the mobile dolls and challenged Quatre to a sword fight."

"Swords?" Duo asked, incredulous. "Since when to people fight with swords?"

"Evidently the aristocrats on Earth deem it a worthy pastime. Thanks," he acknowledged the supporting hand Duo had given him as he stepped down a bit awkwardly from the foot hold. He readjusted Quatre's limp body in his arms and began to walk towards the door labeled EXIT with Duo running alongside him. "Quatre knows how to fight with a sword, but he didn't want to injure the girl." His eyes narrowed slightly. "He even tried to get me to take her with me and leave him there. As if that would ever happen," he scoffed angrily.

"Sometimes Quatre's too kind for his own good," Duo said, observing with increased worry the lax and blanched face of the boy they were talking about as they hurried along.

The door exiting the hanger opened at their approach and the warmth of the colony and its light engulfed them. Suddenly, as if appearing from out of nowhere, a team of medical personnel and a gurney appeared.

"I radioed ahead," Trowa explained the presence of the medical support without looking away from Quatre as he gently placed the smaller pilot on the stretcher where he was immediately strapped in and wheeled away, even as the medical team began to assess their patient. Duo ran behind Trowa as he walked with long, hurried strides beside the gurney that was taking Quatre to the ambulance waiting outside the building. As the blond was being loaded into the emergency vehicle, Duo looked up around, scanning the area in search of Heero and Wufei. At first he didn't see them, but a commotion near the far door drew his attention towards it. A large group of people and reporters were gathering off to the side. As the crowd shifted, Duo saw two recognizable dark heads near the center and recognized the unmistakable head of long blond hair and the voice of Relena Peacecraft speaking above the murmur of the group surrounding them.

"Please, ladies and gentlemen, hold your questions and comments. The pilots are exhausted from the battle that has just concluded. I will confirm for you, however, that the rumors you've heard are indeed true. The war is over. Treize Kushrenada was killed in battle and OZ has conceded defeat. White Fang has been neutralized by the destruction of Libra. And less than an hour ago, the pilot of Wing Zero saved the plant Earth from certain devastation by destroying an enormous, broken-off section from that battleship, Libra. Negotiations between Earth and the colonies will begin immediately now that all hostilities have ceased. Now please, let me escort these pilots to a place where they can rest. I promise more information later."

Jealousy again reared its ugly head as Duo observed the scene and scowled at the fact that Relena must have rushed to Heero's gundam and gotten to him the moment he got out of the hatch. He had to hand it to her, she certainly knew how to use Heero's heroic act to further her own political aspirations. His resentment of her grew at her snagging Heero at such a momentous moment. After he'd been scared almost shitless, fearing he'd have to face a postwar era without the person who was of the greatest importance to him, he wanted to be reassured his lover was alright. He needed to touch and hold him. He sullenly realized that his so-called lover didn't seem to feel the same way because he hadn't even come to meet him as he docked. Upset at the way things were turning out and not wanting to make a scene or look insecure and needy, he went against his emotional judgement and turned to the more practical. He raced after his other two friends. Heero had Wufei guarding his back; he would be alright for the time being. With Quatre down and Trowa concentrating on him, Duo determined that they needed him more. He took upon himself the job to guard their backs until the five colony-born teens could regroup, then he would square things with Heero.

During the course of the two days that followed the final battle, he and Heero had somehow managed to miss each other in passing. Duo learned from Trowa, a constant at Quatre's side, that the other two pilots had shown up at the hospital six hours after their landing on L-4, twenty minutes after he had been led by Rashid to a nearby hotel where the Maguanac took the time before he left to check on his band of brothers to arrange for a room for the weary pilot to rest. After six hours of sleep, Duo had been woken by his aching and hollow stomach begging for food. He showered then left his room to go down to the hotel restaurant to get something to fill his cramping stomach. He learned later that while he'd slept, Heero had gone in search of Rashid, found him and obtained direction to the hotel and his room number. But upon his arrival, he found the unmade and bed empty. Feeling too tired from the day's events to keep looking without some hint of direction, Wing's pilot took advantage of the soft bed and decided to take a nap while he waited for Duo's return. 

Not knowing at the time of their passing each other again and of Heero's presence in the hotel, Duo finished gorging himself, then took a slow walk back to the hospital to check on the status of his wounded friend. His disappointment at not seeing Heero there was eased somewhat by finding out that Quatre had regained consciousness and seemed to be on his way to recovering nicely from his surgery. Surrounded by a gaggle of fussing sisters, he managed a brief visit before his droopy-eyed and drugged friend drifted back to sleep. Quatre had weakly pleaded with him to take Trowa to his home so that he could rest properly. Of course, Trowa wasn't all that amenable to the suggestion, but with the older women dominating the currents of the recovery room, the idea became a little more appealing. 

So it was a half hour after arriving that Duo literally pulled the semi-reluctant Heavyarms pilot out of the hospital. With the hastily scrawled directions to the Winner house in his hand, Duo shoved the nearly comatose pilot into a taxi and handed the slip of paper to the driver, requesting him to take them to the written address. It was almost comical to see the man's eyebrows disappear up to his hairline at seeing where he was driving his passengers.

It shouldn't have been surprising to find that Quatre's home was an enormous mansion, but its grandeur had the former street kid's eyes bulging. As always, Duo found himself awed by any such large domestic dwelling. The two climbed the steps to the front entry and rang the door bell. As Duo steadied Trowa as he began to sway, he explained to the tall, dark-skinned butler who had promptly and properly answered the door who they were and Quatre's instructions. The two gundam pilots were assured that they had been given word to expect them and they were promptly ushered up the grand staircase to one of the dozens of rooms they passed within the large, opulent home. Though they were offered separate rooms for their comfort, Duo insisted the two of them stay together, not knowing the specifics of this resting place or the many personnel that he'd seen tending to it. 

The room itself was much like the rest of the house, elegant and decorated with expensive furniture and wall hangings. The large, king-size bed was inviting, but it was the promise of a warm, home-cooked meal that kept the two boys awake for longer than they thought possible.

Observing his comrade as they waited for the promised meal, Duo could see that Trowa was almost beyond exhausted and feeling unsettled in the unfamiliar surroundings as well as from being away from Quatre. By the shifting of the green, half-lidded eyes, he knew that if he didn't keep a close watch on him, the Heavyarms pilot would bolt back to the hospital and Quatre's side and would probably end up being hospitalized himself. Putting aside his own need to find Heero and to set things right between them, Duo knew he was needed right where he was. Quatre would rest better and heal faster knowing Trowa was being watched over as he rested. And Trowa, capable and stubborn as he was, needed to know that his back was being watched as he gave into his exhaustion and slept. 

Duo talked to the taller boy in a gentle but firm manner, insisting he take a short, hot shower, telling him he would feel better for it. 

Trowa reluctantly agreed and shuffled off to the bathroom. He remained behind the closed door for no more than ten minutes before he re-emerged, looking fresh, damp and more than ready for bed. Wrapped in a borrowed bathrobe, he sat half awake in one of the chairs in the bedroom and watched as Duo sat cross-legged on the bed, using the remote to change the channels on the television, looking for any news updates. A knock sounded on the door just as Trowa's head began to drop towards his chest as sleep came closer. A moment after the cart of food had been brought in and uncovered, Duo excused the household-staff person and then forced the hot, delicious meal on the sleepy young man. Duo's prodding to eat didn't stop until the braided teen was sure Trowa's appetite was sated, then the American promptly sent him to bed.

The exhausted Heavyarms pilot slept for ten hours without moving or even rolling over. Duo kept watch for an hour or so, then locked the door, put his gun under his pillow, then climbed up on the bed next to his friend and slept for six hours. He awoke feeling refreshed and spent the remainder of the next three hours silently pacing the room. He felt irritated by the fact that he'd had no word about Heero or Wufei. Added to his irritation was his hair. The band securing his braid had broken during his rest, leaving the long mass tangled and in messy disarray as it fell heavy against his back. He was anxious and feeling desperate with the need to leave and find Heero, to settle things with him. But he couldn't. To leave now would be shirking his duty to his other friends. 

A light tapping on the door came as a relief to him, breaking up the monotony of listening to Trowa's gentle breathing while he paced. He went to the door expecting a member of the household staff on the other side, and opened it a crack to peer out. He was more than a little surprised to find Wufei on the other side.

Turning his head, he checked the person on the bed behind him and saw that Trowa was beginning to stir from the slight sound. So as to not disturb his friend further, he eased himself out of the room and shut the door quietly behind him. Turning to look into the Chinese boy's face, he smiled and noted that Wufei looked rested. "How are you?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"I'm well," the other replied. "How's Trowa?"

"It looks like he's finally waking up. He was pretty wiped out." Duo answered.

"Heero's been looking for you," Wufei said casually. "I understand we missed you at the hospital a couple of times and when he finally tracked you down at your hotel room, you gone. We found out from Quatre when he finally woke up an hour ago that you'd brought Trowa here to rest. We didn't know if you were still with him or not, so I offered to come and bring Trowa back to the hospital. Heero's checking your hotel room again." He gave Duo a slight, amused grin. "Quatre's beginning to get anxious at Trowa's long absence, and Heero at yours."

Duo nodded, a smile teasing his lips. "Let me get lazy bones up and fed, then we'll all go back together."

Wufei nodded, his eyes rising to the top of Duo's head. "You better fix your hair, it's a bit... mussed. Wouldn't want to look less than your best for Heero, would you?"

Duo, though surprised at the other pilot's teasing, gave his friend a playful warning look, then moved with lightening speed to snatch the hairband from off Wufei's pony tail. "I'll just borrow this, if ya don't mind," he chuckled and scampered back into the bedroom, leaving Wufei standing in the hallway with his hair falling loose over his shoulders and a forced scowl on his face that slowly gave way to a smile as the bedroom door closed behind the long-haired maniac.

The five pilots met up again at the hospital. Upon entering the room, Duo's eyes met with Heero's and the principal emotion they shared between them was longing. Their lingering gaze ended when Trowa voiced his pleasure that Quatre had some color back in his face. Duo moved across the room to stand at Heero's side. He quickly embraced him and felt a surge of relief in feeling Heero's arms holding him with just as much desperation. No words were able to be exchanged between them as the doctor arrived and began to tell the five of Quatre's progress and giving them the happy news that the prognosis for a full recovery was excellent. The five then took time to quietly celebrate their victory. The war was over and they'd somehow, miraculously survived. Trowa stayed close to Quatre's bedside, their hands occasionally touching. Heero remained close to Duo, their shoulders bumping occasionally and both of them sporadically reaching out to touch each other. Duo felt like his body was thrumming with happiness at being with his friends again, that they were all facing a future that had always been questionable, until now. Yet he was more aware of the boy that stood next to him and that he needed desperately to be alone with him and to talk about the past and present. He needed to confess his love and then his mission, hoping Heero would understand. The coming conversation filled him with both dread and anticipation. His future and his heart lay on the line at Heero's reaction to his confession.

After an hour of visiting with each other, the nurse came into the room with the intention of chasing the three visitors out, allowing Trowa alone to stay while the famous L-4 patient rested. The three comrades walked out of the back door of the hospital, having been told by the guarding Maguanacs of the growing numbers of members of the press at the front door and lobby. Someone had obviously leaked information that the Winner heir had been wounded and that the gundam pilots were visiting him. It wouldn't take more than a day or two for them to figure out that Quatre Winner, the prince of the colony, had been one of their number and then all hell would probably break loose.

The three boys, appearing to a passerby as relatively the same height and build and of reasonable good looks, managed to successfully escape the attention of the gathering press at the hospital's front doors and walked several blocks together in the direction of Duo's hotel.

"So where did you two disappear to after the last battle?" Duo asked as nonchalantly as possible. He was still somewhat irked that Relena had manipulated Heero again to her side.

"Relena met us at the gundams and warned us that the press was gathering like a pack of rabid dogs outside the terminal," Heero answered, his eyes shifting to Duo to gauge his reaction. "She said if we met with them, giving them a brief statement, that we would be able to escape them sooner than if we didn't."

Wufei snorted at that. "They weren't easy to appease. Though Relena handled them fairly easily, they wanted to know who we were and what colonies we came from. Like that would matter. We fought for all the colonies, not just our own."

"It took us a good hour to break away and we decided you three had made a clean escape from the madness. Relena ushered us into a taxi cab and took us to the home of a family she knew, offering us a chance to recoup from the media mess," Heero continued the narrative. "We were given food, a chance to shower, and then the phone to try to figure out where everyone else had gone. We finally reached Quatre's home and was told by one of his sisters that he was in the hospital."

"Unfortunately," Wufei spoke up. "L-4 has four hospitals and Quatre's admittance was withheld from the public at that time. We ended up going to each hospital and wandering through the hallways trying to find three gundam pilots. At least we found Quatre at the third and not the fourth one. But by that time you'd gone and there was no one there to tell us where Rashid had taken you."

Duo nodded, that explained a lot of the time that had separated himself and Heero. Wufei then looked at his watch, and casually announced, "I've got some business to attend to. I'll catch up with you later." He then turned and left his two comrades before either of them could protest or ask questions.

Duo looked at Heero and gave him a shy smile. They were alone at last and the time for his confession was at hand. "That was a bit obvious, but nice of him to bug off, wasn't it? Want to go to my room and talk?" he asked.

Heero nodded. "It seems like a respectable establishment," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

"Rashid got me the room. I guess Quatre's paying."

Heero nodded. "Is it secure?"

"It was when I checked in, but I've been gone awhile. We can check it again when we get there." He then started to walk in the direction of the hotel with Heero matching his stride.

"So how did you escape Relena?" Duo asked, trying to mask his jealousy.

Heero snorted. "It wasn't easy. But I find dealing with her in a direct manner is very effective."

"What did you do?" Duo's curiosity was piqued as the approached the front doors of the hotel.

"She began to make plans for my future, offering me a lucrative job on her security staff back on earth and a fully-paid college education as an incentive."

Duo's eyes widened. "What did you say?"

Humor lit the deep blue eyes as he held the door open for the other boy. In a sexy, low voice he answered so that only Duo could hear. "I told her I'd have to ask my lover what he thought about it and that I'd get back to her."

Duo's bark of laughter caught the attention of everyone in the lobby of the hotel. "What did she say to that?" he asked, unable to stifle his laughter altogether.

"She sputtered a lot before she muttered something like, 'You do that.'"

Both of them sniggered at that as they continued into the large hotel, and became aware of the stares of other people in the lobby. It seemed that news traveled fast as to their identities. With their hands brushing against each other, Duo led the way to the elevator. As the doors closed behind them, Heero turned and pulled the braided teen into his arms giving him a kiss that bordered on desperate and an embrace that was almost crushing.

Duo was breathless when the ding sounded, alerting them that the car had stopped and the doors were about to open. They moved apart and watched as the doors parted as well. Duo led the way once again to the door of his room. The card was slipped into the slot and the door's lock clicked opened.

No sooner had he entered the room but Heero grabbed him from behind and propelled him to the bed. Duo laughed at his lover's antics as he was tossed playfully onto the mattress only to have Heero dive onto the top of him, their lips hungrily tasting each other's.

Duo knew he needed to stop before they went any further, but Heero's lips were magic, his touch bewitching, muddling his mind with passion and pushing aside his common sense. Before he knew it, both sets of clothes were off and their bodies were moving erotically against each other, their moans of pleasure mingled with their breath.

"I want you, Duo," Heero whispered against his lips. The braided teen knew exactly what Heero was asking for, a consummation of their relationship, a physical promise of a future. With the way he was feeling at the moment, Duo was ready to give everything to the boy who was teasing his body so perfectly. But guilt lay on his mind and brought him quickly to his senses. Putting his hands against Heero's chest, he gently pushed, forcing Heero to back away, a perplexed look on his face.

"Listen, Heero. Before we go any further, I need to talk to you. There's something I've gotta tell ya."

Heero gave him a lazy smile as his hands kept roving over the other boy's back and hip.

"I'm serious, Heero. There's something I need to tell you," Duo insisted, though his eyes closed and his body leaned into the tempting touch.

"I need to tell you something, too," Heero said, leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on the tip of Duo's nose.

"You do?" The braided teen asked, feeling and sounding a bit confused as he opened his eyes once again.

"Maybe I should go first," Heero offered. "I don't know that you're going to like what I have to say."

The words, spoken quietly, were like a bucket of cold water thrown over his aroused body. Duo pulled back further and looked into Heero's face as a feeling of foreboding grew between the two. He knew what he had to say to Heero might upset the other boy and that the only thing he didn't want to hear from Heero was that it was over between them. Unsure of himself and the situation, he looked into Heero's eyes to see they were guarded. "Go ahead, I'm listening," he said.

Heero nodded, then paused as if to consider his wording. "I have a confession to make," he began, his voice small as if he were ashamed of whatever was on his mind. "Do you remember the day at the cabin you showed me Deathscythe's cloaking system?"

Duo nodded, it was a day he'd never forget, the one that was a part of his confession.

"I received a message on my laptop of a transmission from Dr. J. I remember you were sleeping when I left the safehouse and went to Wing and opened the channel to receive my new mission orders." Heero paused, his eyes looked as if he were pleading for Duo to understand. "G was there also, and they had a long term mission for me."

Duo's body shot up from his reclined position on the bed to sit upright. His eyes were wide as his face lost all color and a look of horror came to it.

"They were concerned because you'd attempted to self destruct several times and that your continued existence was essential to winning the war," Heero continued, having risen to sit alongside the other dumbstruck teen. "I was told to seduce you, to get you to fall in love with me so that you'd have something to live for."

Duo jumped out of bed to stand naked and stunned next to it. Betrayed, hurt, and knowing he'd been manipulated not once, but twice by the two sick bastards made his stomach threaten to empty itself on the hotel's carpet. He wrapped his arms around his bare midriff in an attempt to hold himself together.

"Duo." Heero's voice and arms came around from the behind him in an attempt to hold him. Duo hadn't even been aware he'd gotten off the bed, and violently shook the other's arms from off his body.

"Don't touch me, Heero," he warned, his voice and expression were dark and threatening.

"Please, Duo, listen to me," Heero implored, looking miserable.

"I was a mission, right? You came onto me all those times just because I was a mission."

Heero was surprised there wasn't as much accusation in Duo's tone than there was the hint of a need for confirmation. He stepped closer, but kept his arms at his side, his nudity not an issue. "I accepted the mission, Duo, but you were never just a mission to me." The long-haired boy looked up at the him with pained, liquid eyes and Heero could see his own expression, looking unsure and upset, in their reflection. "I have always been drawn to you Duo. When we first met, I did everything I could to find out who you were. I even asked G for information."

Duo nodded, he'd heard that much from the crazy coot when he'd received his mission regarding Heero. Some of the hurt and shock he'd felt diminished slightly at Heero's admission. Maybe the two old men hadn't lied in order to manipulate their two pilots.

"But I couldn't show you how I felt, that I really liked you and wanted to get to know you better, to have a closer relationship with you. I had been trained to believe that my personal feelings and needs weren't important unless they pertained to my physical health; they weren't a part of the war," he confessed in a quiet voice. "So I ignored my previous growing curiosity and desire for you in order to focus on my missions. Early in the war," he continued in a calm voice, "when we had teamed together on missions, it was obvious to me that we worked well together. But we were only teammates, comrades with a common goal. Regardless of my training, I decided to learn how to be your friend. Then you started touching me, without seeking permission or for any reasonable cause. I wondered if maybe you felt something for me, and that gave me hope. I thought at that time that maybe I could be content with just friendship between us, but secretly I'd hoped for more. Then I received the mission from Dr. J while we stayed at that cabin, and I was... elated. It gave me permission to do something I'd wanted to for so long, but hadn't been allowed to have because of my former restrictions. I remember that night, Duo." Heero reached up and pushed some of the hair hanging over the other boy's solemn face away from his eyes. "I remember you touched me like this, and we talked. It was the start, wasn't it?"

He waited until Duo gave him a nod of his head, showing that he remembered that particular moment too before he continued. "Then you were captured and injured during the next mission." The eyebrows above the deep blue eyes pinched together, the memory was obviously an unhappy one for him. "Even with your injuries, we managed to get out of there and, after I'd been shot, you risked your own health for my safety by protecting me with your own body when the motorcycle crashed," Heero paused to brush the fair cheek under his fingertips. "Did I ever thank you for that?" he asked. As Duo's head tilted to rest his face against his open palm, Heero continued. "When I woke up and learned from Wufei what you had done, I think that was the moment I finally understood what it felt like to care for someone enough to risk your life for them."

Duo lifted his hand and put his fingers to Heero's lips, not needing to hear any more. His own heart was beating rapidly now that it was his time to make a similar confession. "Heero, that day at the cabin, I also received a mission, identical to yours. I was instructed to seduce you, bind you to me so that you would have a reason to live." He paused for a moment, watching as Heero's eyes widened with surprise and his jaw dropped open. He hurried on before he could be interrupted. "Dr. J said he'd made an error in your training. That telling you to ignore your feelings and not forming attachments made it easy for you to hit the self destruct button. He believed that you were the hope of the colonies, that you would win the war, so you had to survive to see the end of it." Duo shook his head, a sad expression on his handsome face. "Damn if the bastard wasn't right. You did save the Earth and brought about an end to the war."

"I didn't do it myself, Duo," Heero said, frowning.

Duo shrugged, not wanting to get sidetracked. "I didn't want to accept the mission. In fact, I was pretty damn upset at them for even suggesting it. But Dr. J said I was the only person who had a chance of accomplishing the task because you showed some sort of fascination for me. The two mad men decided that your not-too-subtle curiosity about me could be used as a reason for you to quit self-destructing. I guess they were right. Shit, I never dreamed they'd give you the same order."

"Then you only responded to me because you were ordered to? You weren't attracted to me at all?" Heero asked, sounding and looking hurt and unsure of himself.

"I didn't lie to you, Heero, when I said I'd never been with a guy before," Duo rushed to try and explain. "I honestly believed I was straight, that is, I did until the moment you touched and kissed me in the shower, then everything began to change. I tried to deny my feelings and my body's reactions to you. I couldn't understand at first why I enjoyed your kisses so much and got turned on by your touch." Duo put his hand to his head and rubbed at his temple where a headache was beginning to form. "I was so damned confused about what was happening to me. I tried to tell myself that I was only following orders, giving you friendship and affection in order to complete the mission, giving you something worth living for while trying to remain at arm's length." He sighed then. "But somewhere along the line it all changed."

Heero moved away from Duo to sit dejectedly on the edge of the bed, his skin beginning to tighten from the chill of the air-conditioner and goose bumps formed all over his body as their recent passion cooled with the revelation of their twin missions. "So we were both manipulated into a relationship," he said, looking dazed and suddenly fearful of what the disclosures would mean to them. "Why would they do that to us?"

Duo's eyes turned to Heero and his heart constricted. He couldn't bear to see his lover so dispirited. He sighed and moved to sit on the bed next to him. He pulled the top blanket from off the bed and threw it around both of their bare backs and shoulders. "If those two aren't already dead, I'm going kill them, slowly and with a lot of pain," he said.

Heero remained contemplative and silent, no further comment coming from him, which made Duo nervous. "Are you alright, Heero?"

The other boy nodded, then sighed as his eyes remained focused on the floor. "I don't like that we've been manipulated into a relationship, but I feel strangely... grateful to them." His deep blue eyes rose to meet Duo's concerned gaze before they quickly dropped again. "Maybe they really believed we needed each other, that both of us would have a better chance of surviving the war if he developed true feelings for each other. I know that without the thought of you being here for me after the war, I might not have pushed so hard to make it." 

It was Duo's turn to go silent, his eyes open but unseeing, leaving Heero unsure of what the American was thinking, so he continued. "Dr. J knew me very well. He'd trained me to be what he needed. He understood that I wouldn't have acted on my own to form a relationship with you, but that doesn't mean I didn't want you, Duo. I may have taken some predetermined actions to gain your attention and to try and make you desire me, but I can't say I'm sorry." His face and voice became soft as he continued. "I'm not sure what I'm feeling is love, but I do know that I've never felt for anyone what I feel for you. I don't want to be without you. I know I need you, that you... make me feel calm and excited at the same time. You make me want to be a better man. Do you think that's love, Duo?" Having asked the question that had been on his mind for so long, Heero then cautiously looked askance from out of the sides of his eyes to the boy sitting next to him to gauge his reaction. Seeing Duo looking at him wide-eyed, he added. "I was afraid to tell you about the mission, afraid that you'd be so angry that you would kick me out of your life. But I knew that if we were going to have any kind of a relationship after the war, that I had to tell you the truth. I want things to be right between us because I do want there to be an us, Duo, regardless of how we got together."

With his shock and resentment at Heero's confession diminishing, any anger Duo had felt followed. His instinctively reached out for the other boy; his heart was already residing in Heero's hands. "I fell in love with you, Heero," he stated in an emotional voice. "I didn't understand it at first. I denied it and tried to fight it, but I slowly came to the realization that I need you, that I want to be with you in every way, Heero. When I thought you might die during the last battle, I... I couldn't imagine how I could go on living without you if you weren't in my world, in my life. I know what I feel for you is love, and if you don't mind my saying so, I think it's what you're feeling for me too."

Heero felt a flood of relief course through him, and with a deep, relieved sigh, he turned his body so he could pull a very willing Duo into his arms and held him fast against his chest. "Are we okay?" he asked in a shaky voice, the uncertainty that had been there earlier was still present. "Can we get past this and try to make a life together now that the war is over?"

Duo's own arms were wound around Heero, his fingers clinging to the blanket that was barely covering the other boy's back. Heero's feelings for him were being reaffirmed by the simple embrace and his humble words. "I don't think I can make a life without you, Heero. I really believe that if this is something we both want and if we work hard at it and not quit when times get tough, we'll make it work. Is that what you want, too?"

"Yes," Heero answered, sounding convinced in his decision. 

The two teenage warriors continued to hold each other for a long time, drawing reassurance, support and comfort from the contact. Chilled by the low temperature in the room and their lack of clothing, they soon returned to the bed and pulled all the covers up and over them. For hours they lay in a tangle of arms and legs while they talked about the past and the future that stood before them like an open doorway, where they were poised upon the threshold of a new life that they were willing to step into together. 

They made plans for the next few weeks, agreeing to hide their gundams, avoid the press and Relena, find jobs and share an apartment, a bed and a life together. As for their relationship, they would take it a day at a time. For the moment, they temporarily tucked away the passion that had propelled them into the room earlier, choosing to save it for another time when things felt more settled. It was the kiss they shared just before falling asleep that sealed their futures together, speaking more clearly of the strength of their devotion to each other than any further words could express. A new day had always held the element of the unknown to the two teenage pilots and lovers and, for the first time in a very long time, the coming new dawn was something they were both looking forward to.

Finished 

Author's note: 

I hope you found some enjoyment in reading this story. It was a kind of getting-my-toes-wet venture. A heartfelt thanks to Aphrael for catching my idiotic blunders. You have the patience of a saint, dear friend. Also, my gratitude to all of you who have been so kind with words of encouragement and support. To me, fanfiction writing is a hobby as well as a tool for learning, but it's still nice to know it's appreciated in some small way. More stories to come soon.

B.D. 


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